Page 16 of Possession

“I think it’s best if you move to a safe house. At least until we figure out who this person is.”

I vehemently shook my head. “No. I left North Carolina because of this guy. I refuse to run anymore. I’m not leaving my home.”

“Mad—”

I pushed back harder, and this time Joseph let me go. With hands on hips, I stood firm in my response. “I said no. I’m staying here.”

“Then you’ll have a protective detail stationed out front and have some damn surveillance cameras installed this time.” The directive came from Nathaniel, who’d moved farther into the room. He now stood beside Joseph, his eyebrows dark slashes accenting an expression that sent tingles through me. There was such a primal fierceness to him. I was also a little disappointed at the distance he maintained.

I acquiesced to his command. “Fine. But I’m not putting cameras in my office. I won’t do that to my patients.”

He accepted my compromise with a nod.

“The ERT should be here soon to comb the outside of the grounds in search of evidence.”

“ERT?”

“Evidence Response Team.”

I nodded. “Ah. Well, tell them to be careful of my babies, please.”

They looked at me questioningly.

I flushed a little self-consciously. “I have a large flower garden out back that I adore and take care of. It’s what I do to de-stress and the primary reason I bought this house. So, I would appreciate it very much if they didn’t trample and destroy my hard work. Above all my lilies. I transplanted them from North Carolina, so they’re still fragile. And considering it’s fall, they won’t bloom much longer.”

“I’ll make a note of it.”

“Thank you.”

I hated how stilted our conversation was. There was so much awkwardness that hadn’t been present when we’d been together at Black Light. It also made me question the protective display from Joseph moments ago. I shifted nervously.

“If there’s nothing else then?” I attempted to side step around the men, leaving the question hanging. My anxiety was getting out of control and I needed to rein it back in. I didn’t make it far before a strong hand lightly, but firmly, clasped my upper arm. I stared down at it for a moment before following the line of it up and colliding with a pair of smoldering, coffee-colored eyes. The heat from Nathaniel’s touch spread down my arm before settling deep inside me where my core tingled and burned with fire.

“Do you really think you can dismiss us so easily, pet?” he growled low in his throat and his grip tightened just slightly. Not enough to cause me pain, but enough to get my full and complete attention. Not that he didn’t already have it. I briefly stared into his mesmerizing eyes, but true to my submissive nature, a single raised brow had my gaze automatically lowering.

“I wasn’t necessarily trying to dismiss you. I’m just feeling… unsettled.”

Nathaniel’s grip loosened and his thumb now stroked my skin, gently sending tiny sparks tingling through my arm.

“Unsettled about what?”

I hesitated too long for his liking, because the stroking stopped and he spoke with a warning tone. “Madeline.”

I almost huffed out an annoyed breath, but caught it before it escaped. Something told me now wasn’t the time to act like a petulant child. “Everything. The letter. You two. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see you today. Especially in this capacity. It threw me for a loop. I just wish I’d been more prepared.”

A touch to the small of my back startled me. I hadn’t realized Joseph had moved closer. Now that I was paying attention, I realized I was fully surrounded by their heat. Nathaniel at my front, Joseph at my back. I should have felt overwhelmed by their presence, especially so far inside my personal space. Instead, I felt comforted and protected. It was a heady feeling. One I wanted to continue.

“If you were shocked, how do you think we felt walking in and seeing you? Knowing that the same submissive we’d played with, one we can’t get out of our heads, may be receiving letters from a suspected serial killer?”

I shuddered again at those two words and the men stepped even closer, caging me inside their embrace. I couldn’t keep the fear out of my voice. “Do you really think my letters are from your suspect?”

Joseph’s hand shifted from the small of my back to cradle my hip, offering a comforting squeeze. “We won’t know for sure until our forensics team analyzes the evidence, but based on what I saw, I have my suspicions it’s from our serial killer.”

“I don’t get it. I mean, I’ve been getting these letters for six months. He’s never attempted any more contact beyond that. If the person writing my letters and this Casanova person are one and the same, why hasn’t he made a move yet? Not that I’m complaining. I just don’t understand.”

“Maybe he has.”

I turned to stare at Joseph in fear. “What do you mean?”

I felt his hesitation, like he was now regretting speaking up. I wouldn’t take silence for an answer. He must have sensed that, because he answered my question.

“Unlike the rest of the letters, you found this one inside your house. I think that’s his first move.”

I stepped away from him and wrapped my arms around myself. I knew I was being stubborn by staying here, but this was my new home. Even as a child I’d always been one to stand up to bullies. It wasn’t in me to back down. I wasn’t going to let this unknown person push me out of my own house. Still, a shiver raced across the back of my neck and the hairs on my arms stood up.

“He’s coming for me, isn’t he?”

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