Page 63 of Hide and Seek
He looks closer, trying to see what I’m seeing, then shakes his head. “I’m sorry, doll. I’m not seeing it.”
My jaw almost drops. How can he not? It’s crystal clear on the victim’s skin. “Here,” I say, showing him again and using my fingers to point out the jagged lines of each letter, but as his brows continue to inch, I know he’s not seeing what I can so clearly see, and honestly, I’ve never been so disappointed.
He pulls on a set of gloves from my desk and looks over the rest of the body, taking a special interest in the man’s burned hands. “These injuries aren’t fatal though,” he muses. “How were they killed?”
I shake my head. “I haven’t worked that out yet. Apart from the hands and the carvings, there are no other visible markings on their bodies. I’m hoping there might be some clues when I start the internal part of the autopsy, but so far, I’ve got nothing.”
Knight straightens to his full height and lets out a heavy breath, clearly still deep in thought. He rips off his gloves and tosses them into the trash, and without another word, he strides across the room to an empty table, grips the side, and hangs his head. My heart breaks for him. I hate that he’s involved in this. After dumping my own gloves into the trash, I creep up behind him and slip my hand up the back of his black shirt, letting my fingers skim over his warm skin.
He shakes his head. “I don’t know how to help you, Harper,” he murmurs. “Not when you don’t seem to want to help yourself.”
Something shatters inside me, and I’ve never felt more like a child being reprimanded by an angry parent. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, the sound getting caught in my throat.
He lifts his head and turns toward me before gripping my hips and lifting me right onto the empty table. His hands come down on either side of my thighs, caging me in. “I don’t know what’s going on here. Before the club, there wasn’t even a whisper of having seen this man in person, but then you tell me that you’ve seen him twice. What the fuck is going on? What aren’t you telling me?”
Guilt swarms through my chest, and I see the very moment he sees it reflected in my eyes.
“Harper,” he murmurs. “Please.”
I swallow hard and nod, knowing I have to tell him this. I have to be an open book, and as much as I think I can handle my stalker by playing his wicked games, the truth is, I have no idea what I’m doing.
“On Friday night, I’d just gotten out of the shower, and when I walked into my room, he was in there waiting for me.”
“Fuck, Morticia. In your home? That bastard was in your home and you didn’t tell me?” Knight groans, pulling away from me as he pushes his hands back through his hair, his strong arms bulging with each movement. He lets out a breath, his cheeks blowing out. “Did he . . . Did he rape you?”
I shake my head, feeling the overwhelming need to burst into tears, but I hold myself together. “No. But he touched me. I was naked. I had a towel wrapped around me, and he pulled it off. He stood behind me with one hand clamped over my mouth while his other hand . . .” I cringe, letting the sentence fall flat. Knight is a smart man. He can work out exactly what he was doing with his hand.
Knight returns to me, his hands now lingering on my thighs. “You wanted him to?” he asks, his tone flat, not accusatory or prying, and I appreciate that more than he’ll ever know.
I nod, wanting to be as honest as I can. “I didn’t push him away if that’s what you’re asking. I was scared at first. I didn’t know what he wanted or how far it would go, but once he started, there was this overwhelming rush. I knew I shouldn’t have wanted it, but I did. Then as his fingers, you know, he explained the rules of his twisted little game.”
“Game?”
I cringe again. “Hide and seek. He said ifI scream, I fail. If I run, I die.But kitten, you will hide, and I will find you.They’re the rules he’s playing by, and so I figured that if I stuck to that and gave him exactly what he was after, then I’d be okay. I didn’t try to get away or call for help. I just let him, and I . . . I hate that I liked it.”
“It’s okay, doll,” he murmurs, his hands squeezing my thighs, and it’s clear from his tone that he’s struggling with this just as much as I am. “You’re okay. I’m not judging you. I just need tounderstand. I can’t—fuck. I can’t make this go away if I don’t know what he wants.”
“Me.” I say blatantly. “He just . . . wants me.”
Knight is silent for a minute, simply trying to make sense of everything and remain calm, doing everything in his power not to turn this into an interrogation. “What happened after?”
“Nothing,” I say. “The second I . . . finished, he let go of me and left. But he stopped at the door and said,Ready or not, kitten. I’m coming for you,which reiterates that this is nothing more than a twisted game to him.”
“Okay,” he says with a nod, clearly deep in thought. “This is good news. Games have rules, and he’s set out his rules for you, which means he likes structure. He’s probably playing by a set of his own rules, and that means he’ll be predictable.”
“Killing those two men for touching me in the club sure as fuck wasn’t predictable.”
“Wasn’t it? He’s killed before to send you a message. He clearly didn’t appreciate having other men all over you, and so he felt the need to send another message. It’s a pattern.”
Shit.
“Tell me what happened in the club.”
Double shit.
I cringe, and I know he sees the guilt in my eyes.
“He touched you again?”
