Page 55 of Some Saviors Can Break You

“No,” she said honestly. “I understand, Michael. Maybe it’s why I could see you. My dad split before my first birthday, my mom was more interested in getting drunk and her newest boyfriend. There was no one to make sure I did my homework or ate dinner, no one to care about my grades in school, or if I did extra-curricular activities, or applied to colleges. No one cared that I went to bed hungry and had to bathe in a river, so trust me, Michael, when I say that I know what it feels like to be invisible. But this isn’t the way to go about being seen. Killing women who you feel ignored you or looked straight through you doesn’t change anything.”

“Yes it does,” he said firmly. “They all saw me then. For those forty-eight hours, I was the center of their world, they saw me, they got to feel my humiliation when they had to pee in their pants, and when they had to beg me for a glass of water. They learned, they sat there and listened as I told them every time someone has looked past me without seeing me.”

“You’ve made your point, Michael. The whole city has lived in fear of you for over a year. They all saw you, they all heard you, sixteen victims, you’ll never be invisible again, you’ll go down inhistory as one of the worst serial killers the city has ever seen. It’s time to end this.”

Michael didn't say anything, and she could feel the change in the air.

He had made his decision.

He wasn't going to go quietly.

He’d made his point, and now he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory.

Well, too bad for him that she and her partner weren't going to let that happen.

Michael shoved the chair with Rachel still tied to it forward, sending it toppling to the floor causing the woman to cry out as she landed along with it, unable to break her fall. When Michael moved to lunge at her in an attempt to get her to fire so he could commit suicide by cop, Jake—who had successfully circled the room so he was behind the other man—tackled him.

Just like that, it was over.

Michael fought, but they got him cuffed, read him his rights, and freed what would have been victim number seventeen.

Today was a good day.

6:13 P.M.

“Hi.” Florence wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed him hard on the mouth, then put her arms around his waist, and rested her head on his shoulder.

Since she wasn't often the one to initiate intimacy like that, Eli felt his heart soar. Bit by bit, the more time they spent together, the more he proved to her that she had nothing to fearas far as he was concerned, the more she lowered her guard and let him in.

“I missed you today,” Florence continued.

She missed him.

Those three little words meant more to him than he’d thought they would.

In a way, it was better than hearing that she loved him because he could already see in her face, deep in her eyes where she tried to hide it, that she was falling in love with him. But to know that she missed him, that she was thinking about him when they weren't together, that he wasn't the only one consumed by what was growing between them made it feel that much more real.

“What’s wrong with you?” Florence tilted her head up to look at him. “I've never known you to be so quiet.”

“Just happy.” Eli smiled down at her, then couldn’t resist capturing her lips in a kiss that would have gone a whole lot further if they weren't standing outside the precinct on a busy street.

“I am too,” she said with a look on her face that said she was both surprised and pleased with this development. “Where are we going tonight? Did you get us reservations at some fancy restaurant? Do we need to stop by my place so I can change into something else?”

This chatterbox side of Florence was something he wasn't used to, and something he was sure that most people didn't get to see. That she was relaxed around him now, comfortable with public displays of affection and easy teasing, made him feel much more secure in their relationship, and that he had made the right decision when he’d put in an order for a custom made engagement ring.

“Actually, what you're wearing is fine.”

She looked down at herself. “Jeans and a sweater is okay for wherever we’re going?”

“It’s perfect, no one will mind what you're wearing.”

“Well, now I'm intrigued.”

“Good.” He ruffled her hair, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and led her to the car.

“So,” she drew the word out, “care to enlighten me as to our plans for this evening?”

“Nope.”

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