Page 124 of Fragile Sanctuary

She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, and I reached up to gently tug it free. “Don’t.” I toyed with a strand of her hair. “What’s got you worried?”

“Is this going to be too much?” Rho asked softly. “I don’t want to push. Too much. Too quickly.”

I pulled her tighter against me. “It’s not too much. I want to get to know your family better.”

She winced. “We’re a lot on a good day. Maybe you should do one or two at a time instead of all at once.”

I chuckled. “You sound like I’m going to be fighting to the death, not attending a family dinner.”

“You never know. Battles have occurred over mashed potatoes before.”

I skated a thumb up and down her back. “I want to go. I may not be good at it, but I want to try.”

Socializing was a rusty skill that I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to sharpen, but I didn’t want Rho to feel like she had to compartmentalize her life either.

She stretched up onto her tiptoes, brushing her lips across mine. “I like you just the way you are. Broodiness and all.”

I grinned against her mouth. “Even if I never wear color?”

“One day, you’re going to rock the hell out of a pink shirt.”

I grunted.Not likely.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I tried not to stiffen. Releasing Rho, I tugged it free. Helena’s name flashed across the screen, but I couldn’t quite make myself hitaccept.

There’d been no news from her for the past week, so we’d lived waiting for the other shoe to drop. Maybe it had.

“Answer,” Rho whispered. “I’m right here.” She slid her fingers into my front pocket as if to link us somehow.

I tapped the screen and pressed the phone to my ear. “Hunt.”

“We’ve got another one,” Helena said. “Just over the border into California.”

I frowned. That didn’t make any sense. Montana, then two in Idaho. Washington or Oregon should’ve been next. He should’ve been closing in on me. “You’re sure?”

“It’s him. Note’s a match. Woman found at a campground just off I-5 southbound.”

“So, he…what? Drove right past where I am and kept on going? That doesn’t seem likely.”

A door shut on Helena’s end of the line. “I think there are two possibilities. One is that he feels us closing in. We know his usual hunting grounds—near freeways and highways. Always snatches young women alone. We have more manpower looking for him now. Maybe he got spooked. Moved along.”

“The other?” I asked.

“He doesn’t know where you are. Doesn’t have access to your tech. Maybe there was another stressor in his life that got him killing again. You know these guys don’t just stop.”

That much was true. Unsubs with the psychological makeup of The Hangman couldn’t turn it off. Killing was a compulsion. He might be able to shut it down for a while or change his M.O., but he’d never be able to stay away forever. Just like he couldn’t stop playing the game.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked.

“Sit tight. We’re running everything now, but the ME’s best guess is that she was killed yesterday. He’s likely still close by. Maybe we can get him.”

I wasn’t holding my breath, but I also wasn’t about to shoot down Helena’s hope. You needed it in that kind of work. “Thanks, Helena. Stay safe.”

“You, too. If anything tweaks you, call.”

“I will.” I hitendand shoved my phone back into my pocket.

Rho looked up at me with expectant eyes. “So?”

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