Page 52 of The Girl He Claimed

Caroline would have to disappearafter this kill. There was too much evidence starting to stack up against her.Caroline, the librarian, would have to die, as so many of her old selves haddied, leaving behind no trace that people could follow. She would reinventherself somewhere else, build a new life, and do the preparation that shealways had to do before she began a new cycle.

The question was whether Adam Rikerwould be alongside her while she did it. There were times when Caroline feltthat Adam would be a lot more useful to her if he were dead. He had a nastystreak, and he was unpredictable. It was obvious that she couldn't trust him andeven more obvious that his endgame in all of this was to kill her. He had nomore interest in a long-term partner than Caroline did.

Yet somehow, for now, at least, shefound herself contemplating whether she should stick with him for a while. Wasthis some stupid idea of riding off into the sunset together when this wasdone? Building a life with Adam Riker did not seem like a sensible move. Yetstill, a part of Caroline was contemplating it.

She pushed those thoughts aside,focusing on tying Christopher Marriott down. She had to make sure that hewouldn't be able to move, even if the sedative wore off before he bled out fromthe cuts she was going to make.

Caroline was a little surprisedthat he and Paige hadn't been able to see through her earlier. Well, no, notsurprised. She was good at hiding herself, after all. She'd spent yearslearning to mask what she felt, what she wanted to do. Maybe it was a part ofher obsession with control. If she could not control the world around her, shewould at least try to control humans.

They were very easy to control,ultimately. It had been easy to let Adam out using a guard's stolen key card.Easy to know how to hurt Paige and how to draw her and Christopher deeper intothe game. Caroline hadn't been that interested in Adam's obsession with Paigeat the start, but the further they'd gone with this, the more this moment feltlike a fitting end.

Caroline crouched by Christopher,checking the knots she'd tied. He was tied spread-eagle on his back, arms andlegs stretched wide. His eyes stared up at her, open, still able to see and tofeel. Caroline had tested her choice of sedative carefully to make sure thatwas the case.

She put his gun back in itsholster. She liked the idea of him having the weapon but unable to use it. Sheliked the idea of more dangerous prey.

She took out a scalpel from herpocket, holding it up to the light so that he would see. She saw him try tostruggle, but the sedative made it ineffectual.

"It won't make a difference toany of this, Christopher," she said in a soft voice. She didn't need toshout when she had them like this. "You can't stop what's going to happen.Would you like to know what's going to happen? I'd like you to know. Don'tworry, you won't die right away. I'll be making a couple of small cuts, nothingmajor, just nicking veins. Veins, not arteries, that's important. I wouldn'twant to be covered in a spray of blood, and you'd die too quickly that way.I'll cut you, and we'll stay here. I'll be with you until the end,Christopher."

That part was important. Anyonecould cut someone with a knife. The part that mattered was being willing tostay there, to watch them closely, to really know them in those seconds beforethey died.

"I think it's time tobegin."

***

Adam could barely believe thatPaige had fallen into his hands at last as he started to tie her.

Of course, he'd planned it likethis. Oh, Caroline would probably say that some of the ideas had been hers, butthe truth was that this was his moment, something he'd designed from thestart. From the moment of his escape, he'd been the one in control.

He drew out another length of rope,lashing it to a beam above.

Adam had thought about this momentfor a while now. Ever since Paige shot him in the shoulder, maybe even before.A part of him must have always known that it would come to this in the end. Itdid with every woman he got close to. They always found a way to disappointhim, and they always paid for that disappointment.

Adam had to admit though, that thismoment was special. It wasn't every day that he got to get revenge on someonewho had put him behind bars, someone who had betrayed his trust so utterly.He'd designed a particularly special tie for Paige. It would take her an houror more to asphyxiate, knowing all the while that death was coming for her.

Adam briefly wondered how Carolinewas getting on in the next room. It bothered him a little now that she insistedon privacy for her kills when they were meant to be a partnership. Especiallywhen hers were always over before his. With the last two, both of her victimshad bled out well before his had finally run out of fight, even with Adam usinghis knives to encourage them to struggle and speed their ends. It meant thatCaroline had been there to see the last part of his work.

Perhaps Adam should look at that asfinally having the one audience who could truly appreciate what he was doing,yet it didn't feel like that. It felt as though she was stealing more than herfair share of the kills, getting her own satisfaction and then leaching intohis.

At that moment, Adam decided thatthe time had come to kill Caroline. He would wait for her to finish with AgentMarriott, then he would dangle her alongside Paige. Perhaps Paige would evenfeel some satisfaction, knowing that her father's killer was going to diealongside her. Adam could call it a parting gift.

For now, though, he focused on theropes. There was a lot to do and not much time to do it. Unlike Caroline, hehadn't used a sedative for this, merely strangled Paige into unconsciousness.

Even as he thought it, Adam sawPaige's eyes start to flicker open. He cursed himself because she was onlypartially tied in place.

Still, he would find a way to makeit work. Paige King was going to die and die slowly for all she'd done.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Paige woke up slowly, her headaching, her body stiff and sore. She didn't open her eyes immediately but triedto assess where she was from sounds and smells to put it all together in hermind.

She remembered what had happenedwith a start, and that was enough to make her open her eyes.

"Hello Paige."

Adam Riker was standing a littleway from her, with those almost boyish good looks of his and that smile thatPaige had to remind herself was more like a tiger baring its teeth thananything with real warmth in it. He was holding a knife.

Paige was more worried about theway her left arm and one of her legs were tied and twisted behind her so thatshe was left dangling from ropes attached to the ceiling, suspended like amarionette. Paige knew what that meant, and it terrified her.

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