Page 57 of The Girl He Crowned

He was waiting forher in the soft, soothing confines of the therapy room, the effect ruined onlyslightly by the presence of a couple of orderlies acting as his guards.

Adam smiled overat Paige broadly as she entered, then looked around pointedly at the guards.

“You know how thisworks, Paige,” he said. “Not with them present.”

He was cuffed to adesk, but even so, there was always the sense that he was about to leap forwardat her.

Paige nodded tothe orderlies. “It’s all right. I’ll be ok.”

They didn’t arguethis time. Instead, they headed for the door to the room, leaving Paige andAdam alone with one another.

“So, Paige,” Adamsaid, as if he were the one leading the conversation. “Are you here to tell methat you’ve done what I asked? If so, you’ve been very discrete about it. EvenI haven’t heard about it, and I heareverything.”

There wassomething in his expression that made it clear that somehow he did. He stillhad a connection to the outside world, in spite of all the efforts made here tokeep him contained.

His expressionturned to something harder. “Or maybe you’re going to try to lie to me. I’llknow if you lie, Paige. I’ll know if you haven’t actually killed anyone.”

“I haven’t,” Paigesaid. She had no wish to go along with his games for a moment longer thannecessary.

“Then what isthis?” Adam asked with a sneer. “Come to beg for my help instead? ‘Please,Adam, tell me what you know about the man who killed my father. You’re the onlyone who can help me.’”

His impersonationof Paige’s voice was a deliberately childish one, designed to provoke aresponse the way almost everything else about him was.

Paige wasn’t goingto play along with him today, though.

“No, Adam. I’m notgoing to beg you. Although I will ask you. Tell me who the ExsanguinationKiller is. Do that, and maybe I’ll talk to the warden here about improving yourconditions.”

Adam looked at herwith open contempt now. “Is that all you have? I’ve told you the price of myhelp, Paige. I want to see you become all you can be, so that when I eventuallykill you, I’ll know I was proven right. Do you really think that just asking mewill help you?”

Paige shook herhead. “No, but that was never really the point of coming here. You were justthe excuse. Thank you for letting me know before that the killer is a woman youmet here, Adam.”

She couldn’tresist that one moment of letting him know just how much she’d worked out, justhow much she’d gotten from him without him intending it. After so long with himmanipulating her, it was nice to let him know that she’d outsmarted him for achange.

Adam’s face wentcold and he lunged forward against the limits of his restraints. “I’ll killyou, Paige! Don’t ever forget that. I’m coming for you!”

The guards cameback in, obviously hearing Adam start to shout. They moved to restrain him, butPaige didn’t watch that part. She walked past them, out into the corridorbeyond.

Now for the partof this that she was actually here for, the part for which going to visit Adamwas only a cover. Paige made her way through the facility, to theadministrative areas of it. Paige knew these spaces well, because she’d spent plentyof time here during her residency and her Ph.D.

That had meantgetting to know the people who worked there. Old acquaintances nodded to Paigeas she passed.

“Hey, Paige, howare you doing?” one of the nurses there asked. “How’s life in the FBI?”

“It’s keeping mebusy,” Paige said. Busy chasing killers, busy hunting down some of the worstpeople out there, trying to get into their heads, and putting them behind bars.

“Ever wish thatyou were back here?”

Paige shook herhead. “I’m happy where I am for now.”

She kept makingher way through the administrative section until she spotted the person she waslooking for. A familiar face among the administrative staff was there at herdesk, working on everything from prisoner transfer requests to visiting passes.She was maybe thirty, dark haired and slightly plump, wearing a gray skirt anda bright yellow cardigan.

“Caroline,” Paigesaid, approaching.

“Paige!” the otherwoman smiled back. “It’s good to see you again. I didn’t know that you werecoming in today.”

“I came in to talkto Adam. He had some information for me.”

Paige took abreath. What she was about to do wasn’t just against procedure, it was activelyillegal, yet she couldn’t think of another way of doing this without going toAgent Sauer and admitting that she’d been looking into the ExsanguinationKiller case. She needed answers, and right then, Paige was willing to dowhatever it took to get them.

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