Harlequin Intrigue July 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 by Delores Fossen

Author:Delores Fossen [Fossen, Delores]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

He could still feel the warmth of her mouth pressed against his.

Nicholas listened to the doc’s steady breathing as she slept wrapped in his arms. Exhausted from the trauma sustained during her abduction, her escape from a cold-blooded killer and the emotional implications of almost dying, Aubrey had fallen asleep in his arms the minute she’d kissed him. Hints of her light perfume clung to her ratty T-shirt, and he filled his lungs as much as possible.

He hadn’t been able to sleep. Not with the updates filtering in from his team. Kara Flood’s dog hadn’t given up any viable evidence other than Koko’s leash had been used in the attack, which didn’t quite fit with the profile Nicholas had built so far. The killer had targeted the victim. Why then had he only brought the scalpel to use during the attack and not something to replicate the strangulation patterns on the X Marks the Spot Killer’s victims? Cole Presley had used his favored belt on his victims. This killer had used his hands, making Kara Flood’s death personal.

They had no suspect.

According to Agent West, the King County medical examiner—Dr. Archer Caldwell—had recovered a possible DNA sample from Paige Cress’s teeth during her autopsy. She’d bitten her assailant before she’d died, but without someone to compare it to, they were back at square one. The clock was ticking down to the killer striking again, but he couldn’t deny the sense of calm washing through him now.

“How many of your extremities are numb from staying in one position all night?” Her sleep-addled voice pricked awareness down his arms and legs, every inch of the right side of his body pressed against hers. Aubrey notched her chin higher. An upturn of her mouth countered the blood, violence and anger cascading in unending flashes of memory and cleared his head.

“Approximately fifty percent, I imagine, but it was worth it to be able to get you to slow down.” Damn, she was beautiful. Even more so than he remembered from the first time he’d met her three years prior.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you. You could’ve extracted yourself if you wanted to get into your own bed. I probably wouldn’t have noticed.” Pressing her uninjured palm to his chest, she struggled to sit up without the use of her right side and failed. She tried again and fell against him. “This is embarrassing, but could you please push me off the bed?”

“Sure thing, Doc.” His laugh erupted easily as he straightened. Sliding his hands under her right hip, careful of her higher injuries, he rolled her onto her other side and pushed her legs over the edge of the mattress. “Nothing to it.”

“Thank you.” Aubrey hesitated to stand, her back to him. “I appreciate you staying with me last night. It probably doesn’t seem like much to you, but I haven’t let someone else take care of me in a long time. All my energy, everything I do, has been to help the people I care about and the families of the deceased who come in my morgue.

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