On the mainfloor of the lodge, Eve wandered through the dimly lit great room. A fire flickered in the large stone fireplace. Comfortable leather furniture, complete with soft blankets and plump cushions, took up the surrounding floor space. Wall-to-ceiling windows showcased a million stars scattered across a midnight sky.
She trailed her fingers over the burgundy felt of the pool table as she walked by. Warm and inviting, the room would be a wonderful place for a family to gather. Game nights. Holidays. Quiet moments for two. Empty of people now, the cozy atmosphere offered a hint of possibility, and Eve felt a stab of pain deep in her chest.
She’d had her moments. Families she lost. Families who cast her aside. Families who betrayed her love and her trust. Eve had learned the hard way. No such thing as the perfect family and forget about the elusive happily ever after. It didn’t exist. Not in her world.
Her world consisted of murdered women and a serial killer on the loose.
Thank God for Adam. He’d found her. Saved her. And now, he’d agreed to help her. He was…everything. She shook her head. Yeah. She’d fallen in love with him impossibly fast, and not in a saved-by-the-prince kind of way.
She wasn’t dazzled by the knight in shining armor.
It was the man underneath who’d captured her heart.
The kind man who turned lamps on for her to sleep. The stubborn man who argued about who made the best cheeseburgers. The bossy man who called her princess and threatened to move her ass where he wanted it. He was the man she wanted. The man she needed.
The man she couldn’t have—not in the forever sense of the word.
Her roundabout tour brought her back to the foyer, and she wandered down the hallway, past the stairs, past the opening to the kitchen and the rumble of voices, past the doors to the service rooms and the basement offices.
Her destination appeared on the left, and she entered the boardroom quietly. Lights dimmed, the room faded into shadows, with one exception. A row of spotlights illuminated the wall closest to her.
In awe of the amount of work done in a short period of time, her gaze stayed locked on the whiteboard as she trailed her eyes over maps, dates, and pictures of the Matthews and the manor.
Her legs trembled, threatening to give out when she reached the victims section. At the top of the pyramid, photographs of Yolande and Carlos formed a peak. Beneath them a row of initials:KA,DE,WM,JC,MH. Underneath four of five initials were images of the women Eve knew in her heart had shared the same tiny bed as she.
Alone and scared, these were the women who had left their marks scratched into the white paint, and now, Eve knew why. They had wanted their bodies to be found. Wanted to be brought home. Wanted justice to be served. With shaking fingers, she touched the picture belonging to Karina Anderson.
Next to her Dolores Erwin smiled for the camera. She’d been so young when she died. Her potential cut short at twenty-two according to the information collected. Eve’s heart hurt for the young woman, her family, her friends.
Beside Dolores, the space under the initialsWMremained empty. Then came Juliana Castilleja, single mother of two, and next to her Mary Hoffman.
They had suffered. They had died. And beneath them, pictures of nine additional women completed the pyramid. Nine “potential victims,” according to the note written off to the side in black marker.
Eve’s stomach twisted, revulsion and despair making her insides churn.
How many had spent time in the cell under the Matthews’ garage?
Oh God.Her lungs constricted as panic set in. How? How would she find them? Dead and buried, some of them missing for years, these women were lost, but probably not forgotten. They were mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, friends. Despite the passing of time, someone somewhere missed these women. Loved these women.
A presence she hadn’t noticed prior loomed beside her, and a large hand waved half a sandwich under her nose. Because she couldn’t think of a reason not to, she took the offering and stood shoulder to shoulder with the man Adam had introduced as Zander.
His calm demeanor soothed, and when he took a bite of his half of the ham and cheese, she followed his lead and took a bite out of hers too. The normalcy of sharing a meal brought her panic under control, and her insides righted themselves.
She breathed in, and her lungs expanded. She exhaled, and her spine straightened. She chewed and swallowed, and her determination grew. “Thanks. Zander, right?”
“My friends call me Z.”
She nodded, liking the simple way he expressed himself. She finished another bite, then turned her gaze to the quiet man beside her. “We’re going to get the motherfuckers who did this, right, Z?”
He met her eyes, the fierceness in his broadcasting his intent. “Yes, ma’am.”
“My friends call me Eve.”
His smile lit the room. “Well, Eve, I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too.” She looked back at the board, at the women they would bring home together, and she felt her soul settle.
This was what God had intended when he sent her to Adam. With him by her side and his men at their backs, they were going to bring the Matthews, and the killer who helped them, to justice.
