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Chapter 1

The guy in the bed had enjoyed killer sex

Detective Todd Brooks stared down at the naked uy’s hands were tied to the bed frame with a thick, white rope His ars sprawled across the ht, but there was no sign of the condom, or of the person who’d bound the man

Poor dead bastard

"So voice carunted and let his gaze drift over the bed Yeah, Colin was right So their crime scene Maybe the forensics unit would be able to findto hold his breath

His eyes narrowed as he studied the slight impression that marred the sheets on the left side of the body, an impression that could have been the outline of a woman

But whoever the e

"Heart attack?" Colinnear the foot of the bed

A possibility The guy looked fit enough He was muscled, appeared to be in his late thirties, but, yeah, he could’ve had a heart attack The sex could have gotten a little too wild, the bondage game too intense

It could have happened that way

Could have

They’d been called to the dingy hotel less than an hour ago A irl, had discovered the body There was no ID in the roos--even the poor asshole’s clothes were gone

The desk clerk had hiinal, and not particularly helpful in this situation

At least the clerk had uy A blonde Long, curly hair Tall

Great breasts

It would have been too limpsed her face

Where was the wouy had picked up for the night? A street-s hi in secret while her husband was none the wiser When her lover had expired, she could have freaked

Yeah, those ideas were definite options

Or rather, they would have been great options, if this hadn’t been the third dead, naked male that he and his partner had found tied up like this in just over ato need a dah autopsy on this one" Because coincidences like this, they just didn’t happen Not ever

He couldn’t overlook the possibility any on the streets of Atlanta Or that the killer ht be one of the rarest breeds--a fe this?" He asked softly Had to be drugs So the killer slipped into the men’s drinks A little concoction that made their hearts beat too fast Orthe autopsy and supervising the tox screen"

He glanced up and found Colin watching him with those eerie blue eyes of his Tension had been heavy between him and Colin for a while now, and Todd knew part of the proble from his end of the partnership--but, dah his just hadn’t been the sa Colin’s girlfriend in a uy ever screw up and just be forgiven? Did Colin want him to bleed? "Uh, Colin?"

Of course, there was the other problehts after the close of the Night Butcher case, his body soaked in a cold sweat of fear--

Todd sucked in a deep breath and caught the heavy stench of death Okay, noasn’t the tihtmares or flashbacks or whatever the hell they’d been He had a case to handle

Colin blinked and seehts "I didn’t think Smith was back from sick leave yet"

Sick leave Todd’s lips twisted He was sure that wasn’t exactly what she would call the extended enforced absence

"Yeah, she’s back" His gut tightened as he said the words Smith, the best e on their last bigpsychopath, and when they’d finally ed to rescue her, the woman had looked like a broken doll

But the lady had a core of pure steel, and Todd was sure glad she was back at the Crypt--because they damn well could use her help

Her replaceood with the stiffs

"Shit" Colin shook his head, athe city needs now"

Todd exhaled, knowing he was right, but there was no denying the evidence A killer was out there, preying onthe their lives away

Damn What kind of woman could do that? Sex and death…not a combination many could handle

But apparently, it was perfect for so to be his job to find her, and to stop her

By any means necessary

"Detectives!" A uniformed cop stood in the doorway, his face flushed with exciteaze darted to the dead ht red color drained from his cheeks in an instant

Had to be the kid’s first body

At least the scene wasn’t too bloody

Todd sighed and stepped forward, deliberately placing his body in front of the corpse "Whaddya got?"

The cop sed and his Adam’s apple trembled "F-found ID in a Dumpster out back M-man’s wallet Woman’s p-purse"

A hot lick of excitehtening It couldn’t be this damn easy

There’d been no evidence left behind before--and the cops on duty had sure as hell searched every garbage can and Du, white-gloved hand raised a driver’s license A Georgia license One glance was all it took to identify the small photo

Different haircut Same face

His eyes narrowed as he studied the ID Michael House A quick calculation put the guy’s age at thirty-five

Sanizable One of the wealthier streets, one of those lined with the big antebellu on the wrong side of the city?

His attention shifted to the purse A s Delicate and probably expensive as hell He reached for it, aware of Colin crowding beside hiers brushed across the soft surface, pushed inside

He touched the hard edge of a wallet Pulled it out Black A high-end label branded on the side

So the wo as well

Carefully, he opened the wallet Just because the unifors didn’tlady Could have been anyone’s purse, especially in this neighborhood, but--

A hard burst of air exploded from between his lips

But the wo, curly blond hair Just like the desk clerk had described

Coincidence? Damn unlikely

The lady was also a world-class looker The photo was s like her before

Perfect

The word seeh his h, her nose a se Her full lips were parted and seeely red in the picture

Oh, hell, yeah, he could all too easily i able to seduce men to their deaths It was all there--in her wide, bedroom eyes, in the sinful lips