When He Was Bad
Page 68

is right here, Miranda snapped, glaring up at him. She appreciated that he was worried about her. She knew he was scared, she could see the fear in his eyes. Sam might not be perfect, often he was far, far from perfect, but he cared about her. Shed always known that, so she refrained from screaming at him. Instead she said, Im right here, Sam, and I know exactly what Im doing.
Getting shot. Getting assaulted. Thats what youre doing!
Okay. He had a point there, butIm going to help Cain. I will find Paul, because if I dont, if we dont, the guy will just keep killing.
Look, Miranda, I get that the guy faked his death and hes been preying on women
Ah, so that was the story hed been told while shed been stuck in the hospital.
but you can just leave this alone. This isnt a job for you. You work with kids, for Gods sake. You dont chase criminals.
She hadnt, not until this criminal had literally walked right through her living room door and come after her. This time I do.
Cain watched the exchange between them, eyes intense.
Let the Bureau gang handle it. They can afford a little spilled blood. You cant.
Well, not much more, anyway. She opened her mouth to reply
But Cain beat her to the punch, saying, Youre looking for him, Deputy Michaels. You started searching after the first attack, and youve been working nonstop to find Roberts.
Her eyes widened at Cains statement, but she wasnt particularly surprised. Beneath his I-dont-give-a-damn persona, shed found the real man sometimes cared too much. Sam? He was a good deputy, a little too lax with the pretty women, a little too slow to break up the occasional bar fight at Petes, but he didnt let abusers walk. Killers he took down, and men who hurt women and children, well, hed always seemed to make a special point of putting them away. For as long as he could.
His gaze didnt meet hers. I dont want you gettin hurt, Miranda.
The bastard. Her lips parted in surprise. Hed been deliberately downplaying his concern, telling her she had nothing to worry about, when hed been out there tracking the vampire.
Of course, he didnt know Paul was a vampire, but...
Those deputies sure got to the scene fast last night, Cain murmured.
Her eyes narrowed. Yeah, they had.
A small shrug from Sam. Some of em might have been stationed in the area. To keep an eye on her. His gaze lifted, finally held hers. But even with my men and the Bureau boys and girls, you werent safe. This is way out of your league, and you need to pull out of this mess before you windup with something one hell of a lot more serious than just a flesh wound.
I know youre worriedher voice was calm, a serious effort thatbut Im not just going to back off this thing and go hide
Youre a damn computer teacher, not
Im one of the women he chose. He came looking for me, tried to kill me. And hell do the same to others. She shook her head. Im not going to stick my head in the sand and pretend Im not involved. I will help Cain stop him.
She saw the fury that hardened Sams expression. He jabbed his index finger into Cains chest. Then you damn well need to keep a better watch on her, cause if she gets hurt again, Im coming after your ass.
Cain didnt look particularly worried. One black brow rose.
Sam grunted. Now lets get the hell out of here
Because weve got a killer to catch, Cain finished softly.
Theyd just left the hospital when Cain got the call from Santiago. Apparently, Paul Roberts hadnt just snuck off into the night to lick his wounds.
Hed stopped at Petes, the busiest of the local bars, picked up a visiting co-ed named Christie, and killed her in the back alley.
Sonofabitch. The news of the womans death hit Cain like a punch in the gut.
His fault.
He should have known. The vampire had lost a lot of blood the night before. He would have needed to restock, and a psychotic like Paul wouldnt be satisfied with a stop by the hospital and a few bags from the blood bank. No, hed like his food fresh.
And fighting.
Dammit.
If he hadnt been so worried about Miranda, he might have been able to think straight. To realize that Paul was like any wounded animal, a shitload more dangerous when he was hurt.
Were on our way, Cain muttered, then snapped the cell phone shut. Miranda sat beside him in the car, now clad in a pair of jeans and a loose button-up shirt. She was still too pale, and the bruises on her throat were too dark. He should stop by the station, let her out, and
He killed another woman, didnt he?
He jerked his head in agreement and heard the soft sigh that passed her lips.
Did he hurt her very much?
Probably. The bastard sure seemed to enjoy hurting women. Santiago says he drained her nearly dry. Then cut her throat. Vamps usually did that, to throw the humans off track.
I-I thought he hunted women over the Internet, picked out his prey.
His fingers tightened around the wheel. He was desperate last night. Hed lost too much blood, had gotten too weak