Page 13 of Lovely Violent Things

The last one I hesitated on. No, Kallum didn’t force himself on me. I was a willing participant. And according to the tox screen run at the hospital, no drugs were found in my system. I wasn’t drugged. But, as I can’t yet logically explain what happened to me during the ritual, I have to question and test everything.

It didn’t register until I got back to the hotel and went through my bag what was missing from the collected evidence.

The carving knife.

Sometimes, it’s what’s absent that is the biggest clue.

Did I overlook it when I was hastily gathering items at the ritual ground? Or was it removed from my bag afterward?

“Halen? Did you hear me?”

I blink hard and recenter my focus. “Yeah, sorry. Just zoned out for a second.”

“Uh-huh.” Devyn turns toward her kit. “Well, in order to process everything you gave me stealthily, it’s going to take a bit of time. The lab is overworked with this case.”

A bite the corner of my lip. “Of course. I was just hoping…” I shake my head, having no idea whathopeeven means anymore.

“I know,” she says, her tone soft and reassuring as she faces me. “Look. Whatever happened to you out there—” she nods in the general direction of the ritual crime scene “—it’s going to take even more time for you to processthat. You’re a psychologist, Halen. You know this. Give yourself enough time to equilibrate or recalibrate or whatever.”

A thin smile ghosts my lips. I nod appreciatively. “Thank you.”

“Sure.” She steps closer and drops her voice low. “And if you need to talk about anything that might have happened between you and a certain devastatingly sexy expert consultant. Hey, no judgment. I’m here for that. But if he hurt you—”

“No. I promise. Nothing like that.” I meet her concerned gaze, and really hope I’m convincing. “As crazy as it sounds, I just want to make sure I’m not losing my mind.”

Her mouth twists into a smile. “Oh, I can confirm that for you right now. You’re absolutely batshit. But, I suspect that’s why you’re so good at what you do.”

An amused laugh escapes, and I appreciate her attempt to put me at ease despite our grisly surroundings and the obvious stress of the case. “Thanks. I think…”

“You’re welcome. Now, get out of here before you fall asleep on a pile of evidence.”

Devyn heads to the center of the scene to confer with one of the federal agents on the task force, leaving me feeling some strange, vulnerable melancholy.

Typically, my field manager Aubrey would check in a couple times before I closed out my day. I’d send in my field reports. I have a strict routine.Hada routine. And that might be all I’m feeling, the lack of structure. What kept my mind focused, busy. Off of painful reminders of the past.

Once I have my tripod and tools packed in my case, I hoist the strap over my shoulder, groaning at the tender ache in my back. Really, as the adrenaline that’s been fueling my manic efforts to process this scene starts to wane, every sensitive bruise and injury on my body makes itself known.

My back bears the scrapes from the bark where I was bound to a tree. My wrists are abraded with rope burn. My skin is covered in scratches and bruises and bite marks, and a sigil is carved into my innermost upper thigh.

My whole body thrums with a painful, visceral reminder of Kallum.

The hotel room has a soaking tub, and I’m thinking about submerging myself for the next several hours when an alarming sensation prickles the back of my neck, lifting the fine hairs along my body.

As the early morning air crackles with a volatile, kinetic force, I sense the moment he enters my energy field. Like the darkest flint striking an abrasive surface, the friction of his presence scratches over my skin, heating my flesh.

His fiery chaos pulses against my logical defenses, and my breathing becomes erratic. I can feel him, tangible, magnetic, drawing me in like a moth to a frenzied flame.

I don’t miss the dark irony as I stand amid a crime scene designed by the Harbinger himself.

My heart clenches in my chest, and suddenly every molecule vibrates with his frequency as I gravitate toward the boardwalk and climb the steps onto the worn planks. Gathering my remaining strength, I look down the walkway.

Kallum’s striking silhouette is framed by the hazy glow of the lamps.

Like a lit match dropped to a trail of gasoline, the distance between us blazes through the dark. He eats each step with a sure but unhurried stride, his gaze intently aimed on me, making the world fall away.

Sheathed in a designer black suit tailored to his beautiful form, he’s the devil of deception and debauchery descending on Hollow’s Row once again.

Kallum is flanked by Agent Alister and another special agent—one of the tagalong feds.

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