The knife slid up her body again and she tensed. He wound his hand through her hair, holding her in place. Cold sweat broke out over her entire body. She began twisting, trying to break the restraints that bound her as he softly laughed.
“I’ll remember this day forever, Ashley. The day we met face to face. The day you relinquished everything to me.”
She screamed at him from behind the gag that she wasn’t giving up. That he would rot in a cell until his execution. That they’d found evidence that tied him to every single magic hour murder over the last three years. That she would never give up or give in.
His fingers grasped her throat and held her firmly against the sand and smiled gently. Raising the knife to plunge it into her, he said, “I’ll always love you.”
Her eyes widened in fear as the knife descended.
Then something flew through the air, knocking Magic away. She rolled to her side and saw Thorne punch him, again and again. Magic stilled and Thorne pushed away, his knuckles bloodied.
“Kill me now, Special Agent Mayfield. If you think you can.”
“With pleasure,” Thorne growled, shooting the serial killer several times and stepping aside.
He came and lifted her to a sitting position, pulling the gag down. He kissed her, hard and swift. “I thought you were gone.”
“I almost was,” she murmured, her body quaking as adrenaline raced through it.
Thorne stood and pulled her along with him. He produced a knife and cut through the Zip Ties binding her. She brought her hands in front of her and shook them, pain zinging along her forearms into her palms as the blood began circulating again. Her back ached and her shoulders hurt as she rotated them.
Thorne took her wrists in hand and massaged them, bringing her back to life. Gratitude poured through her.
“You saved my life, Thorne. I was seconds from death.”
He gave her a crooked smile. “Just doing the job a partner should do.” He brought her hands up and turned them over, pressing a kiss into each palm. “And what a lover better do.”
Thorne enfolded her into his arms, kissing her deeply. Ashley relaxed against him.
She broke the kiss. “We better call it in.” She stepped from his embrace. “The deputy director will wonder why we haven’t checked in.” Pulling out her cell, she punched in a number.
“Here’s your gun. I found it back at the house. It looks as if it’ll take days to go through every room in it. A treasure trove full of evidence.”
As Ashley holstered the gun, Thorne made an offhand remark about the last victim they’d found only an hour earlier as he bent and started going through Magic’s pockets. She froze a moment and then eased the revolver out again, standing motionless.
It was something Thorne couldn’t possibly have known. Only the killer would—but Magic was dead.
She placed the phone into her jacket’s pocket and aimed her weapon at her partner. Her lover. Her friend. She watched him remove a flash drive from Magic and slip it into his pocket before rising.
As he turned, she ordered, “Hands in the air.” Her own trembled as she pointed the gun at him. “What’s on the drive, Thorne?”
He gave her that boyish, charming smile that had seduced her from the moment they met. “Nothing anyone needs to see, Ash. Not you. Not anyone at headquarters. We got Magic, baby. We got him. You and I. That’s what’s important. That’s what the bureau will reward us for. The press will throw us a parade. We found the Magic Hour killer. He’s dead. It’s over.”
Thorne took a step toward her.
“Stay back,” she ordered shakily. When he started to lower his hands, she said harshly, “Keep them in the air!”
His facial features changed in an instant. The mask of the determined, dependable FBI agent fell away to reveal the real Thorne Mayfield.
A killer . . .
“I don’t want to kill you, Ash,” he said, his voice low and rough. “I love you.”
The words she’d longed to hear from him hit her like a bucket of ice water. “Love? You don’t know what love is.”
He scowled, dropping all pretense. “You were an average lay. I’ve had better. I’ve had worse.” His eyes gleamed with madness. “Maggie Marchant was way better, pleading with me. Begging for her life. There’s nothing like slitting a throat when you’re driving your cock inside a woman.”
She grew ill. This man had touched her intimately. Made love to her. Said he loved her. And he had killed.
“Were you in league with Magic?” she asked, wanting to know the answer even as she dreaded what he would reveal.
Thorne shrugged. “We collaborated. Took turns doing the killings. With me on the inside of the investigation, it was easy to avoid the law.”
“Then why did you lead us here today? Why did you want us to find Magic?” She heard the hysteria in her voice.
“Because he threatened to expose me. He’d gathered enough to shift the blame for all of the killings on me. Magic decided to disappear and leave me holding all the cards.”
Understanding dawned within her. “You wanted me to find him. Bring him down. You knew how much I wanted him dead. You deliberately separated from me so I’d be the one to stumble across him and confront him.”
He nodded. “I didn’t think he’d get the drop on you. It worked out, though. I was able to rush in at the last minute and save you. Be the hero of your dreams.” He blew out a long breath. “Put the gun away, Ash,” he said firmly. “Magic is dead. We can close this case. Move on.”
“You’re a killer, Thorne. You’ll kill again. I know you will.”
Thorne’s smile chilled her to the bone. “You’re complicit now, Ash. You know I’ve killed. If you turn me in, they’ll think you were also in on it. In fact, I’d tell them you were. That it was your idea to see how far we could push things. How many innocents we could kill. The female FBI agent who turned into a serial killer with her lover. That would make a great book and even better movie.”
“You’d ruin my career? After ruining my life? I loved you, Thorne, and yet you’re a total stranger right now.”
“Your mistake, loving me. Sociopaths can’t love. Don’t make any more. Call it in, Special Agent. Tell the DD we got our man. If you want, after tonight, we can go our separate ways. Say it didn’t work out between us.”
“If I don’t agree?” she asked boldly, hearing a ticking clock in her head as time ran out.
“Then I’ll kill you. Even though it’s not the magic hour.”
Thorne rushed toward her in a blaze of speed. She fired her weapon, again and again. He paused, an odd look on his face as if surprised by her sudden betrayal. Then he crumpled to the ground in a heap.
Shaking, Ashley lifted the cell from her pocket. “Did you get that?” she asked, her voice breaking. Tears streamed down her face. She squeezed her eyes closed, not wanting to see the scene in front of her. She’d killed the only man she’d ever loved.
Slowly, her eyes opened. She stared down at the lifeless body at her feet. Justice had happened. Life would go on. Good had triumphed over evil.
And she would never be the same again.
“Cut.”
Keely dropped to her knees, spent.