Filed to story: The Mindf*ck Series Read Online Free
“Donny, you remember my girlfriend, right?” Logan asks, and my heart does little cartwheels for reasons unbeknownst to me.
I’m his girlfriend.
I have a boyfriend.
This isn’t news, but it’s still making me gush like a thirteen-year-old who is hovering over the phone.
I don’t even think about the fact he’s the guy trying to catch the killer I moonlight as.
Donny whirls around, surprised to see me.
“Sorry,” he says, then nods in acknowledgment as he pours a cup of coffee. “I didn’t even see you.”
I just smile, looking all sweet and shit.
No ruthless killer here, boys. Just a harmless woman falling in love. That’s all.
“Here are the keys,” Logan tells me, placing said keys into my palm. “I’d walk you down, but I have a shitload to do. I’m so sorry.”
I shrug, and some random guy walks over, apparently ready to escort me out.
“I’ll see you later?”
Logan’s lips find mine, answering that question without words. A throat-clearing comes from behind me-Donny. But Logan doesn’t stop putting on a show, his tongue toying with mine as he pulls me as close as possible.
I melt against him, uncaring if the world sees how head-over-heels I am. When he finally breaks the kiss, I’m dizzy, and maybe a little high.
He cups my cheek, staring at me for a long moment. “Later,” he says, then turns and leaves me behind as Craig meets him halfway.
I don’t look back at Donny as I let the other guy lead me out. He never says a word, and I don’t speak to him. He’s blushing fiercely, as though a little PDA shocked him and embarrassed the hell out of him.
Awww. Such a sweet little guy.
He escorts me all the way to Logan’s SUV, and I drive away, heading home to get some much-needed sleep. I’m glad I no longer have to hide my exhaustion.
The patrol cars at the end of my driveway are gone, apparently called away to deal with the latest homicide case that involves several missing children.
It’s a terrible pun, but I nailed that bastard’s balls to the wall.
Well, I actually nailed them to a chair while he cried for hours on end. Thank fuck for gloves. No way was I touching them ugly, wrinkly, hairy things with my hands otherwise.
My phone rings, and I see Jake’s name on it. I told him not to call me on this phone anymore.
“What’s wrong?”
“That girl, Erica Norris? The Boogeyman let her go.”
“What? When?”
“Don’t know. She’s demanding to speak with your boy. Says she won’t talk to anyone but Logan Bennett. She’s about an hour and a half away from you.”
“How do you know this?”
“Hacked the FBI cameras. Don’t worry. They won’t know it was me. They’ll think it was a Russian guy who has been dead for two years.”
“Why would he let her go?”
“Beats the hell out of me. I’ll let you know when I know. This badass is still on the case.”
I grin, rolling my eyes. Only Jake.
Hanging up, I walk up the steps to my house.
Weirdly, I hear music playing when I walk in. I must have left it on.
I shut the door, locking it.
Just as I turn the corner, something collides with my face like a hammer, and I’m thrown against the wall as a cry of pain escapes me. My keys and phone are knocked out of my hands and crash to the ground, but the sound is nothing more than a distant echo.
Before my eyes can adjust to the darkness, an arm bears down on my throat, strangling me, while my dazed head tries to catch up, still reeling from the explosive pain.
My hand shoots up, trying to connect with something, but a strong, vice-grip encases my wrist, twisting it painfully.
“Feisty. I like that. And so pretty. Agent Bennett picks them well,” a deep, sinister voice says from the darkness, chilling my blood to the core. Just a glimmer of light highlights malicious eyes too close to mine. “He left you all alone finally. Tell me, princess, are you afraid of the Boogeyman?”
End of Book 2
Chapter 1
Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.
-William Shakespeare
LOGAN
“I don’t understand why he let her go. It clashes severely with his profile,” I tell Craig as we pull up to the police station. “A sexual sadist who has been on a killing spree doesn’t just release a victim.”
“I don’t know either. The girl is so traumatized that she wouldn’t let them bring her to us. She said we had to come here, and she’d only talk to you. Her father hasn’t even been allowed in yet. She said she couldn’t speak to him until she spoke to you.”
Confused, I walk quickly into the police station, leaving the introductions to Craig. Why leave her in this town? Why let her go at all?
A thousand questions are flitting through my mind as I walk into the room they’re holding her in. She’s shaking, her eyes wide and panicked, and a blanket is draped around her.
Three men and one woman are in there, all of them giving her a wide berth. She’s terrified, understandably so, and has most likely already had several panic attacks if someone got too close.
“I’m Supervisory Special Agent Bennett,” I say softly, trying to keep my tone warm and non-imposing.
Her eyes dart to mine, and immediately she starts sobbing. Everyone looks as confused as me.
“He…told…me…to contact you…just you,” she says through her sobs. “He said I couldn’t show anyone until…you…No one but you.”
I’m at a loss, carefully taking a step forward.
“Show me what, Erica?” I ask her, gingerly crouching in front of her, making myself appear smaller, less threatening.
“This,” she says, moving the blanket and tugging up her skirt to reveal her inner thigh that is bandaged. Blood has seeped through the bandage, and I look at the female officer closest to me.
“She wouldn’t let us check her. She refused until you arrived,” she says, answering my silent question.
Erica tears at the bandage, pulling it off, and I see the words he’s carved into her skin.
HER SAFE.
There’s even a period.
It makes no sense at all.
“Did he tell you where he was going?” I ask her.
She’s a sobbing mess, shaking her head. “He said he’d kill me if I didn’t follow his orders. Said he’d come back for me. He took me once; he could take me again. Told me to follow his orders precisely, and he’d let me live.”
“And he ordered you to show me this?” I ask, still trying to follow her.
“Yes. To get you here and show you this. That’s all I had to do, and he’d let me live.”
She’s crying so hard that it’s hard to understand her words, but I think I understand her well enough to spare her more questions. She’s not fit to be interviewed right now.
He’s shattered her.