Page 4 of A Dark Place

“I’m so happy that I’m almost afraid. . .” She couldn’t finish. But he understood. Will had been there to hold her through many a nightmare.

“Hey.” He gathered her close. “Nothing’s going to happen. I’m not letting your father anywhere near you again.”

He thought she was worried about her father. Truthfully, Lizzy had made her peace with the man who was her father. After Martin Collins was captured in Afghanistan and brought to their new location in Idaho, she’d gone to see him. Told him that she had forgiven him for the terrible things he’d done in his quest for power, but she no longer wanted a relationship with him.

The one that troubled her the most was the man who had showed up at her safe place and tried to kill her. He’d haunted her sleeping hours for days afterward. A reminder of the torture he’d put her through and the feeling she wouldn’t escape his deadly games so easily. Lizzy held her husband close and willed the dark thoughts away.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Will searched her face.

Lizzie forced a smile. “Of course.” She’d be strong for him. They’d been through so much since the team had been forced to leave the Washington compound and flee to a remote location in Idaho. And now their worst nightmare had happened. The men coming against them had used nuclear weapons on the team. Hiding out in a secured mountain mine, everyone on the team was terrified of another attack.

Will leaned down and framed her face with his hands before he gently kissed her. “I’m going to speak with Victor and the rest of the core team. See how long we must wait before we can venture outside. If you need me, I’m close.”

Lizzy nodded. “I know. I’ll find my brother and see how he’s holding up.” She glanced around at the crowd of people crammed into the mine where they’d been hiding out.

Will was hesitant—she could sense it. He hated leaving her after everything she’d been through. He was her strong warrior. Never once had he given up on finding her through their years apart.

Lizzy struggled against the emotions that were always close whenever she thought about all the time she’d lost with him. Looking into the past wouldn’t serve any purpose now. She had a chance at a future with Will and her brother.

He held her hands near his heart. “I love you, Lizzy. I love you so much.” His lips grazed her knuckles. “Don’t go near the front of the cave until we know how dangerous the fallout will be.”

“I won’t. Go.” She freed one hand and entwined their fingers. Lizzy walked with him a short ways. “Find me the minute you know something.”

“I will.” Lizzy watched him walk away and glanced over to the place where her aunt was sleeping. After everything Aunt Betty had been through with her brother, Lizzy was happy to let her rest as much as possible.

She went back to the spot where she and Will had attempted to sleep and retrieved her phone. Most times, Lizzy kept it turned off because of the people who had tried to kill them. And she had no doubt they would do their best to track them by phone.

While the phone powered up, Lizzy searched the crowd of people scattered around until she spotted Mark speaking to Jennifer Parker.

The message-waiting alarm sounded as soon as the phone was at full power.

Lizzy swiped her thumb across the surface and hit the message button. The second it appeared on her screen, three photos had her stifling a scream. Two were of her . . . at the compound they’d recently left here in Idaho. But the third was the most frightening. She dropped the phone, the scream tearing through her body from deep inside.

It was fromhim. He’d sent a message meant for her alone. And he’d taken another victim. One Lizzy knew very well. She could imagine the terrible things he’d put her through because she’d been there. She’d once been in that box awaiting the next deadly game of the Van Gogh Killer.

Chapter Two

Asher woke to the shrill sound of his cell phone. The noise propelled him out of bed. Still groggy, he fumbled around the nightstand until he found the phone and brought it to his ear. “Lackland.”

“I got a call from Sheriff Callahan. He received a message from. . . someone.” Olivia caught herself before she said the name aloud. They’d both been careful not to mention Will or Lizzy Grayson in their investigation after their run-in with Director Holden. The man appeared to have his own agenda that had nothing to do with solving the Van Gogh case.

“What did it say?” Asher asked. Right away, his gut tightened. Lizzy Grayson had been the one to break the Van Gogh case wide open by affirming that they were dealing with two separate serial killers working in tandem. The thought was horrifying. The only bright side was the revelation that one of the killers had died at the hands of his own son.

The time on the phone said it was almost midnight. Asher cleared his throat to rid the sleep from his voice and prepared himself for bad news.

He and Declan had been chasing the killer since the first body showed up in D.C. with her ear chopped off like Van Gogh. A copy ofStarry Nightlay near the body. Along with a photo of the woman’s fearful face before the killer had mutilated her body.

So far, the details were slim. They were still digging into Edward Buckley’s past, but what they’d discovered was terrifying. The man had been a killer for a long time.

“The killer sent a photo. He’s taken another victim, and this time we have a name. Sylvia Abbott. She and Lizzy were roommates at Georgetown.”

A name? The words settled over Asher like a reoccurring nightmare. “So, he’s started up again. He didn’t waste time, did he?” The Van Gogh Killers had gone silent five years ago. There’d been no new victims. Asher and his former partner, Declan, had thought something happened to the killer. Perhaps he’d died or had been incarcerated for another crime. Until a few weeks earlier when the case had blown wide open and they realized they were looking at two killers.

“No, he didn’t. Unless this is some kook acting as a copycat and seeking recognition for himself.”

A strange thing to say. “Why would you think that?”

A car rumbled in the background. Olivia was on the road. Probably heading to the Hoover building.

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