Page 31 of Beneath the Scars

Biting down on her lip, she lets her gaze wander to Jayne's building.

"You'll come back to me?"

"Of course," I assured her before leaning over to give her a chaste kiss. "Now go inside there, so I know you're safe."

Lily rushes into the coffee shop as I approach the front door. A doorman appears from a room in the back and opens it up for me once I flash him my badge.

The ride in the elevator goes quickly, and when I look at my phone I'm relieved to find Jones is busy pulling up. Forwarding him the floor and apartment number I pull out my gun, and head for Jayne's door.

It's still open, so I carefully go inside, clearing the large main room before heading to the back, where the bedrooms would be. I spot Lily's shoes against the kitchen counter, but before I can think about how unwise it would be to grab them, something hits me from behind, and everything goes black.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Byron

Theunmistakablesoundofa blade running through flesh is the first thing I hear when I wake up. That isn't what surprises me, though. It's that I'm not the one being cut up.

I'm unsure when my brain made the connection, but it seems painfully obvious now that I'm sitting here, trussed up like this year's Thanksgiving turkey.

The Cat is a woman.

A woman scorned.

The Cat is Lily's stalker.

The Cat is Jayne.

It is the only thing that makes sense. The lump on the back of my head pounds a steady beat, but it lets me know I'm alive to fight another day. How long that will be remains to be seen. I can only hope Jones is around the corner or called in as a backup.

Trying to take in my surroundings without letting Jayne know I'm awake, I keep my eyes shut but relaxed enough not to give me away. I'm worried about who she's carving up, but I can't hear screams, so I'm guessing the person is already dead or, at the very least, passed out. And it won't help either of us if I show my hand too soon.

My hands are tied behind me, which would usually have worked against my favor, but seeing as my back and hands are pressed against a wall, Jayne won't notice if I try and wiggle them free.

The binding is tight, but not so much that it doesn't have a little give. My feet are a different thing, though. Even if I have my hands free, I won't be up to much fighting if I can't get them loose, too, and there is no way I'll be able to do that without her noticing.

"I know you're awake, Agent Scott," Jayne calls to me from across the room. "I'm a trained professional. I can tell feigned unconsciousness from the real thing."

I slowly blink my eyes open, pushing myself into a sitting position. At least now, I will have better maneuverability in my hands.

"The Cat, I presume," I greet her, looking down at the body in front of her.

Fucking Jones.

His lifeless eyes stare back at me, his tongue already cut out. Jayne is busy carving into his large barrel chest, and from the blood spilling down from the coffee table where she has him tied to, she's already taken his manhood, too.

"My, my, my. You are a clever cookie. What gave me away?" Her face lights up with a menacing smile, her eyes staring at me with a dead quality that I've only ever seen on the worst monsters our team has put away. How the hell had she been hiding it this well? Even worse, how had we gotten the profile so wrong?

Clearing my throat, I keep struggling with the binding behind my back, feeling a little relief rush through my system when the rope gives. "Too many coincidences," I respond to her question, shrugging as best as possible. "There's also the fact that it now seems painfully obvious that these men were all killed by a woman. One with a vendetta, a mission of sorts."

Jayne's smile turns into a knowing smirk. She looks almost impressed with me, but I have seen behind the mask now. I know it's a show she's putting on.

This woman has no real emotions other than rage.

"A man must have hurt you badly in your past," I muse. "Was it someone you knew? Or a stranger, I wonder?" Her lips, purse, and brows furrow the smallest amount, but just enough for me to notice her annoyance.

"What I want to know though, why Lily?"

Jayne takes the knife in her hand and stabs it down into the body in front of her with such force that I can hear the blade hit the table underneath it. "Her name is Lillian, you heathen! You don't deserve even to breathe her name, let alone breathe the same air as her!" Spittle flies from her mouth, and her eyes bulge out, giving me the first glimpse of the madness she's been hiding so well.

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