Page 116 of Watch Me Burn
The question grates on my raw nerves. I’m not in the mood for small talk. Not when my world has fallen apart.
I set a steaming mug in front of her and take the opposite chair, my hands wrapped around my own cup to hide their trembling. The caffeine won’t help my anxiety, but I need something to anchor me.
“Karen, I don’t want to be rude, but why don’t you just tell me why you’re here? We both know it’s not to chit-chat.”
The shift in her expression is instant. Off duty or not, she’s putting on her cop face.
“Luna, I’m going to ask you something, and I need you to be straight with me. I’ve known you almost your whole life, and you’re an honest person. I need your honesty now.”
“Okay.”
“How well do you know Damien Wolfe? Really?”
A cold sweat breaks out on the back of my neck.
“We’ve been over this, Karen. I told you we’ve been seeing each other casually for a few months.”
The word ‘casually’ almost makes me laugh. Or cry. There was nothing casual about the way he possessed me, the way I gave him my complete surrender. There was nothing casual about the way my heart broke when I discovered his lies.
“Are you really stuck on this idea that Damien is somehow connected to all these murders?”
At one time, I worried Karen was on the wrong track and would try to pin murders on Damien that he didn’t commit. But I was wrong. He is guilty. He’s my wolf. He’s a serial killer. And Karen’s suspicions are right. Have been all along.
She sips her coffee, watching me over the rim.
“Something just doesn’t add up, Luna. Eight people connected to animal abuse cases that came to your sanctuary have turned up dead in the past three months. Another eleven have gone missing without a trace.”
My heartbeat quickens, hammering against my ribs.
“And there are all these other unsolved missing persons cases, all accused animal abusers, nationwide. It’s like they just vanished into thin air.”
“Okay.” I swallow, hoping she doesn’t notice. “So, what does that have to do with Damien? Other than the confrontation with Odell Pearson, the others were people he didn’t know or have any contact with?”
“Well, he just happened to show up in town right before all these bodies dropped, and the other missing individuals disappeared after he bought the Morrison Place.”
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
I force my expression to remain neutral, even as panic claws at my throat.
“Really, Karen? You’re a better cop than this. That’s circumstantial at best.” I’m surprised by how steady my voice is, considering the silent scream trapped in my chest.
“Maybe. But my job is to notice patterns, and this one gnaws at me.” She sets her mug down. “Especially since his company specializes in surveillance, which would make covering tracks easier.”
The observation strikes a nerve, reminding me how easily he watched and stalked me and how effortlessly he covered his tracks.
A faint sound escapes me, the ghost of a laugh that never quite forms. “You think Damien is what? Some kind of vigilante killer?”
“Not to insult you, Luna, but I think it’s a hell of a coincidence that a billionaire tech CEO takes an interest in a small-town wildlife sanctuary and its owner right when dead animal abusers start showing up.” Her eyes soften with something that might be concern or pity. “And I think you’re too smart not to have noticed the timing yourself.”
The accusation fills the silence. She’s right. I figured out my wolf was the killer almost immediately, even before he admitted it to me. And I chose to protect him anyway, first as my wolf and now as Damien. I chose lust, then love, over justice, and now I’m drowning in the consequences.
But how smart am I really when I didn’t, or refused to, see what was right in front of me?
“Do you have any evidence?”
“Nope. I can’t tie him to any of them. Not one here or anywhere else in the country. I didn’t tell you before, but forensics found tire tracks at the site where Odell Pearson’s body was discovered. The lab identified them as the model and size tires found on Range Rovers, and Damien Wolfe just happens to own four of them.”
