Page 11 of Girl, Bound

‘He didn’t seem tomind. Neither did you.’

Ella hoisted her bagover her shoulder and looked back through the frosted glass into Edis’s domain.Even Luca’s outline was worth a spot on her calendar. ‘Christ, you see the jawon that thing? It could cut glass.’

‘I could teach him afew things for sure. I call dibs on maid of honor.’

Ella shot her a glare,but there was no heat behind it. ‘Shut up. You want to walk to Maine?’

She straightened herspine, shaking off the lingering embarrassment. There was work to be done, akiller to catch. She couldn't afford to be distracted by a pretty face, nomatter how tempting. Ella called the elevator and they stepped inside, ready toface whatever horrors awaited in Millhaven.

But even as the doorsclosed, Ella couldn't quite shake the image of Luca's blue eyes, or the promiseof that coffee date.

Damn it, Dark, shethought, get your head in the game. The killer wasn't going to catch himself.

CHAPTER FIVE

Ella stared out theplane window, watching the world fall away beneath her.

She was bound forMaine, chasing a killer who left bodies in bags like discarded trash. But evenas she tried to focus on the case, her thoughts kept drifting back to theheartthrob from HQ.

Luca Hawkins. The namealone did something to her. Those piercing blue eyes, that chiseled jaw, theway he looked at her like he could see right through to her soul. It was enoughto make a girl weak in the knees. But Ella was no ordinary girl. She was an FBIagent, damn it, and she had a job to do.

She couldn't afford toget distracted, not now. Not with a killer on the loose and innocent lives atstake. But there was something about Luca that made her heart skip a beat, thatmade her wonder if maybe, just maybe, giving up chasing monsters was worth it.

Ella shook her head,banishing the thought. She couldn't afford to go down that rabbit hole, notagain. The last time she'd let her guard down, let someone in, it had ended inheartbreak and tragedy. She couldn't go through that again.

Across from her,Ripley lounged in her seat, flipping through the casfile with feignednonchalance. But Ella knew her partner too well. She could see the wheelsturning behind those sharp eyes, the gears of that brilliant mind grindingaway.

‘So,’ Ripley said,glancing up from her documents, ‘have you stopped thinking about HottieMcHotpants yet?’

Ella shot her a look,feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. ‘Jesus, Mia, I only saw the guy for thirtyseconds. He might look like a Greek god but for all I know he collects stampsand listens to prog.’

Ripley snorted,tossing the file on the table between them. ‘Please, Dark, I saw the way youwere looking at him. Like a starving woman eyeing a juicy steak. Can't blameyou though, the man is fine as hell.’

Ella rolled her eyes,but she couldn't quite suppress the smile tugging at her lips. Ripley alwaysdid have a way of cutting through the crap. It was one of the things Ella lovedabout her.

‘He’s an oil painting.I’m gonna look but not touch.’

‘Maybe that’s what youneed. Another agent. Someone who knows the crap that comes with this job.’

‘Speaking ofheartthrobs,’ Ella said, eager to change the subject, ‘did you warn Martin tostay alert? I don't want anything happening to your boy toy while we're gone.’

Ripley's face grewserious, the playfulness draining from her eyes. ‘Yeah, I told him to stayhome, not go anywhere alone, even fishing. He wasn't happy about it, but heunderstood.’

Ella nodded, feeling apang of guilt. She knew how much Ripley cared about Martin, how much she’dchanged her entire outlook in just a few short months. It couldn't be easy,knowing that the people closest to them were being targeted by some facelesskiller.

‘How much does heknow?’ Ella asked, keeping her voice low. ‘About the situation, I mean.’

Ripley shrugged, hergaze distant. ‘Not much. I didn't want to worry him more than necessary. Justtold him to be vigilant, keep his head on a swivel.’

‘Good,’ Ella said,pulling out her own documents and flipping to page one. ‘The less he knows, thebetter. We don't need him playing hero and getting himself killed.’

‘Enough about our lovelives, or lack thereof. What do you think about this case so far? What are yourassumptions?’

Ella leaned forward,her brow furrowed. She'd been turning the case over in her mind since they leftHQ, trying to piece together the scant clues they had. It wasn't much to go on,but Ella had always been good at seeing the big picture.

‘Our unsub isorganized,’ she said, tapping the file with a fingernail in dire need of amanicure. ‘Mission-oriented. The people he kills are surrogates for somethinghe hates.’

Ripley cocked aneyebrow, a challenge in her eyes. ‘And how do you know that?’

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