Page 23 of The Heat of Intensity

“Fuck,” Kathleen snaps.

My heart takes a plunge in ice-cold water.

“What’s going on, Kathleen?” I grit while panic seeps through me, hoping Cosima is still alive.

“Hang on.” Her words are muted, but I hear her talking to someone who is there with her. “Can you take over here? I need to check on something. No, asshole, small-town shit can’t wait because I’m fairly sure my dog just found another body so I need to fucking check. Now, this serial killer case is all yours and even if it’s in my town, you’re going to take lead anyway so stay here and let me do my damn job.” Her voice softens when she tells me, “Give me directions so I can come to you.”

I let her know and we hang up. Luke jogs in her direction to make sure she doesn’t take a wrong turn. A few minutes later Luke returns with Kathleen who is carrying a large bag over her shoulder.

Kathleen gives Wrench a ball and praises him as she walks to the place Wrench was lying. Taking out a shovel she gently moves some dirt around. All too soon she replaces the shovel with some kind of small broom and then she steps back.

She takes her phone in hand and says, “Marvin, I need you to let your guy watch over that crime scene and get your ass to me. Yeah, no shit. You need to see this. Wrench found a body. No, this one has been here a while. Yeah, bones, but I can still tell it’s a woman. Okay.”

Her eyes find mine. “Sorry. Clearly this isn’t Cosima, but it might fit the profile of the serial killer. Marvin predicted the serial killer would come to this town since it fits his requirements. I do have to tell you that the search warrant came through on Bennie’s house and Wrench found a body in the backyard. We’re certain it’s his missing wife but we’re waiting on the official report. Bennie must have killed her when he caught her stealing money from the safe. Now, I’m sure Sadie’s dog can do more than mine at this point so be sure to head back to the house. I have to stay here and handle this until Marvin gets here.”

Kathleen has a pained look in her eyes and I know she’s trying to do everything she can, but I’m starting to feel fucking helpless. How the hell can my old lady disappear while we have eyes all over the damn place?

Whirling around, I run back to the house to retrace my steps and glance at the video one more time to see if we might have missed something…anything. My heart squeezes painfully inside my chest. I have to get her back, I just have to. There’s no way I could get back to living without the only woman who brightens my life and gives meaning to the sense of living.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

– COSIMA –

I don’t want to die. I’m not going into the light and I want out of this freaking darkness. And why the hell is my body not doing what I want it to do? I feel weird. Am I dead? Shit. The last time I thought I was going to die I had a lot of regrets.

Now? My only regret is that I’m dying right now, or am dead already, and didn’t have a lot of time with the man I fell for. One voice clip after another, he pulled me toward him and never let go. I don’t want to let go.

Again, I attempt to open my eyes but darkness still has a hold on me. Did I get hit on the head again? My body feels weird, not painful, just…weird as if I’m not the one in charge of it. My movements are sluggish and I’m finally able to shift some, it’s then I realize my hands and feet must be bound.

I feel woozy. Did someone drug me? What the heck happened? Think, dammit. I take a choppy breath and try to grasp onto the last memory I have. Parker. A sob rips from me. Again, I hugely regret not having more time with him.

“Ssshhh, I’m here, we’re together now,” a voice I don’t recognize states and I instantly freeze.

A stench of sweat and a strong putrid ammonia-like smell assault my senses right before something falls away from my eyes. The new sob that rips from me is one of small relief at the realization that I’m not completely blind again; I was blindfolded. The small relief doesn’t last long when I see Murphy sitting in front of me.

He’s close and leaning half over my tied legs. I quickly glance over the space we’re in but don’t recognize it. We’re in what seems like a long hallway where each side is made from wood. The scent of horses is strong and I can even hear them moving around.

My shoulders almost touch the walls, that’s how small this space is. I’m leaning against a wall and the one across from me is far away. The space is as high as the stables behind the ranch. From a distance, I hear voices and recognize Parker’s who bellows out my name.

Holy fuck. Did Murphy create this hidden space in our own stables? If so, how the hell is Parker going to find me if no one knows about it? Panic is now flowing freely inside my veins and it skyrockets when Murphy suddenly palms a knife.

He holds it close to my throat when he says, “Stay quiet. I don’t want our time together to end yet.”

I flinch when Murphy reaches out to stroke my cheek with his thumb. “Don’t cry, we’ll be alone again soon enough.”

Parker’s voice sounds closer and I want nothing more than to scream his name but there’s tape covering my mouth by the feel of it. Fuck it. I try to scream at the top of my lungs but it comes out muffled.

Fear hits me hard when I feel the tip of the knife Murphy is holding breach my skin. Warmth trickles down my neck and chest while I shiver at the thought of losing my life by this man’s hand.

A dog starts to bark really close. Murphy mutters something while I hear muted voices from the other side of the wall. Murphy shoves himself away from me and I feel as if I can momentarily breathe again.

It doesn’t last long, though. Murphy opens what seems to be part of the wall and glances out through a crack. My relief of him escaping doesn’t last long when he grabs my ankle and jerks me toward him. My arms and legs are tied causing my body to fall back, and my head hits the floor, rattling my brain.

Pain radiates through my neck and an instant headache assaults me. Whimpers are the only muted sound penetrating through the tape covering my mouth. My shirt gets caught on the raw wood underneath me. Murphy gives another yank on my leg and I feel like a wiener being smacked into a bun when the fucker knocks me around to fit through the slim passage.

Another yank and my body catches up with my legs, causing my knees to bend. Murphy grunts and I remember how Parker shot him in the shoulder. Without giving it a second thought, I kick out with both my bound legs and hit him hard against his shoulder, hoping I remembered the correct one that was injured.

Murphy screams in agony and to my relief, I hear a mixture of voices coming from inside and outside. The flash of steel reminds me of the knife Murphy is holding and I’m momentarily stunned by fear as I try to force my mind to come up with a next move to regain my freedom.

---