Page 41 of Provocation (Temptation 3)

The question I feared I already knew the answer to.

“Would he kill her?”

Ethan slowly brought his gaze to mine. He didn’t have to utter a single syllable. His response was written all over his face.

“I believe he would.”

I released a shuttering breath, my throat closing up.

“But you don’t have to worry about him. Like I said, he’s locked up. Spending the rest of his life behind bars. Julia’s safe.”

I wished I could find comfort in Ethan’s assurances. I couldn’t, though. Not until that fucker was dead.

Only then would I be certain she was safe.

A chiming cut through the tense atmosphere.

“Sorry,” Ethan said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell. “It’s Agent Curran. I should take this. Might be important.”

I nodded. While Ethan slipped out of the room, I stepped toward the corkboards once again.

As I perused all the research Ethan had done, all of it obviously important enough to keep readily accessible, I came to a stop in front of Julia’s victim statement, a sticky note with Ethan’s familiar scrawl on top of it.

Multiple incidents of forced intercourse.

Psychological abuse throughout marriage.

Threatened to take daughter from her.

My jaw clenched, hands fisting. I knew this guy was a bastard who didn’t deserve the air he breathed. Knew he’d hurt Julia, in addition to several other women. But seeing it broken down into three concise bullet points filled me with a sort of protectiveness I’d never felt before. And it wasn’t just for Julia. But also Imogene. If that monster so much as attempted to come near either of them, I wouldn’t hesitate to end his life.

“Hey.”

At the sound of Ethan’s voice, I faced him. “What did Curran want?”

Ethan parted his lips, obviously uneasy.

“If it has something to do with Claire, I have a right to know. She’s my sister.”

He studied me for a moment, then sighed. “There’s not much Curran can do right now, as you know. Nonetheless, he still has some privileges as a federal agent. Like requesting inmate visitation records, as well as incoming and outgoing mail logs, in order to ensure victim safety.”

This certainly piqued my interest. “You mean—”

“Curran pulled Domenic Jaskulski’s visitation records and mail logs for the past five years. Truthfully, he didn’t think he’d uncover much. Most of his mail was from fans. Women declaring their love for him, as twisted as that sounds. As far as visitors, he didn’t get many. He has had routine visits from a prison outreach ministry, but that isn’t what struck Curran as odd, although he does intend on looking into this group.”

“Then what did strike him as odd?”

He chewed on his bottom lip, shifting from foot to foot. “Over the past two months, he was permitted twelve media visits, all by the same person.”

I uncrossed my arms, pulse increasing. “Media visits?”

“The First Amendment allows the media access to prison inmates, contingent on the warden agreeing. Each prison has different requirements, but typically, if there’s a compelling reason and the reporter has a clean record, they’re granted access.”

“And what reporter was granted access to Domenic Jaskulski?” I asked, although I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

“Claire.”

My hands clenched, ears pounding, fire scalding my veins. It took everything in me to resist the urge to punch the wall. Instead, I advanced on Ethan, who backed up, holding his hands up defensively in front of his body.

“Why? What did she want to talk to him about?”

“That’s what Curran hoped I could tell him, but I can’t. She never told me about this. It’s like…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “It’s like I’m learning about a completely different side of Claire.”

I relaxed my stance, knowing all too well what that felt like.

“All I know is what Curran told me. Over the past two months, she was granted access to Jaskulski on multiple occasions… Including the day before she died.”

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