Page 88 of Closer Than You Know

Bent glanced at her. “Good for him.”

“Yeah, good for him and Anna.” Eric would be a wonderful husband, and father, if the latter was the route they chose to take.

When she and Bent reached her house, he followed her inside. It would be full-on dark soon. The idea that they still had no idea where Eve was churned in her belly, twisted in her chest.Please, please let her be okay.

Poor Eve would likely be pissed as hell at the bastard who’d taken her. And worried sick about Suri.

“Suri is staying with Mr. Hurst,” Bent explained, as if she’d said the thought aloud. “He and his wife insisted when they heard what had happened.”

Vera was surprised. The Hurst family had always seemed a bit standoffish. In light of Suri’s confession, Vera was actually stunned he hadn’t fired her. Hurst was the biggest funeral home service in the county. Like most businesses, reputation was immensely important.

“Good.” She scrubbed at her forehead, realizing she was still wearing the damned makeup. “I should call Luna. Make sure she’s okay.”

Bent hitched his head toward her living room. “I have some calls to make. After that, you mind if I catch a quick nap on your couch?”

She was confident that, like her, he hadn’t slept much if at all since the night before last. After downing that hamburger, she’d actually dozed once or twice on the way back from Nashville.

Funny how the exhaustion and the rumpled clothes looked so good on him. Oh well. No one knew better than her that Bent would look good wearing mud.

“Sure.” She caught herself before she suggested he take her room. Particularly since she had stripped the linens off the bed. He would immediately think of last night. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

She hurried away. First, she moved her sheets to the dryer, then she grabbed a wad of paper towels and washed her face. She needed a shower after spending time with Solomon in that prison.

But she refused to get naked again with Bent in the house.

Instead, she made that call to Luna to check on her, and then she rounded up a pen and pad. She sat down with a cup of coffee to start analyzing what she knew about Solomon’s grandson and the moves the two had made during the ten murders of which the authorities were aware. If she could create an accurate profile ... she might just be able to figure out where he had taken Eve.

Hang in there, sis! I’m coming for you.

33

Eve used her bound hands to swipe at her face. She had tried really hard not to cry, but as the hours had passed, it had become more and more difficult. Daylight had come and gone, and judging by how tired and hungry she was, an entire day had passed.

Suri and Vera would be so worried. Luna too.

A burst of anger chased away the tears. She glared at the man who sat on a stool watching her. She wanted to kill this son of a bitch more than she wanted to take another breath.

Blasts of fury erupted in her chest like a series of explosions in a fireworks display. Her feet and legs hurt from being bound together too tightly at the ankles. Her hands were going numb. He’d taken the gag out when he’d wanted to ask questions, and he hadn’t put it back. She’d told herself to keep her mouth shut so he wouldn’t be prompted to stuff it in again, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep quiet.

“You know your sister was a big hero when she took down my grandfather and saw that he went to prison.” His mouth twisted in hatred. “Everyone thought she had rescued them from ‘the’monster.” He emphasized the word by making air quotes.

“And you were a coward,” Eve said. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have left your own grandfather to rot in prison alone for the crimes you helped him commit.” He seemed kind of young to have been killing for so long, but what did she know. He had that creepy blond hair—almost white—and pale-gray eyes.

As if she’d said as much out loud, he shot to his feet and charged toward her.

Heart racing, she held perfectly still. It wasn’t like she had much of an option. She was on the floor, leaning against a wall. There was nowhere to go unless she attempted to roll to her right or left. As numb as her legs felt, she wasn’t sure she could do that quickly enough. Instead, she braced herself and rode it out.

“You,” he growled, so close spittle flew in her face, “have no fucking idea why I did what I did. We were partners, and all he wanted was to save me ... now he is dying.”

“Seems pretty clear you just sat back and let him do it,” she said, allowing nothing more than a blink in reaction.

Fury flared his nostrils as air sawed in and out of him.

That nose was so close to hers she considered biting into it ... snapping it completely off. She imagined his blood spewing all over her face before he grabbed his own and stumbled away, howling in pain. Probably wasn’t as easy as it looked in the movies. But oh, she so wanted to hurt him.

Low-life creep. When Eve had first gotten a look at him, she had been kind of surprised. She’d figured the person doing this crap was just some random scumbag working for Solomon. But once she saw the bastard, she recognized this was someone related by blood to Dr. Palmer Solomon. Too young to be his son. Had to be his grandson. Then the shithead had confirmed her conclusion. She wondered if Vee had figured it out.

The ridiculous thing was that with his looks and his money—he wore a Rolex for fuck’s sake—he could get plenty of women. Instead, he secretly followed each victim like some pathetic outcast, sneaking around in the shadows. Then he abducted her so he could torture and murder her.

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