He knew she couldn’t really tell whether he was well-hung, not with his jeans in the way. She was trying to pretend she was in control. She seemed to think acting bold would turn him on, but it enraged him instead. The challenge in her eyes, playful though it was, reminded him that, despite all the penis extenders he’d tried over the years, he wasn’t as impressive in that area as everyone seemed to expect from his general good looks and physique.
“Well?” If she made fun of him, he’d kill her. Which would be a mistake, but at that point it’d be worth it. He refused to allow anyone, especially a woman, to make him feel inferior.
Lucky for her, she didn’t laugh. “Let’s go have some fun,” she said.
*
After they got back from the cabin, Evelyn went straight to the prison. Not only was she behind she also needed to stay busy in order to take her mind off what had most likely happened at the cabin. She didn’t even stop to have dinner after everyone else went home. She worked until she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. Then she lay down in the conference room. Amarok had taken the evidence he’d collected to the lab in Anchorage, and she had no idea when he’d be back. If they closed the road, he might not get through until morning. She couldn’t bear the thought of spending another night in their home alone, not after seeing the size of the bloodstain on that mattress and sensing that whatever new menace they were facing was close. She needed to feel secure in order to get the rest she so desperately needed and, inside the prison, with its tall fences, razor wire atop those tall fences and even taller lookouts, manned by armed guards watching the grounds, she felt safe. Maybe one of the many psychopaths housed within the walls would get her one day, but not Jasper. He was the only one she truly feared, and he couldn’t get her here.
She was just nodding off when the phone began to ring.
That had to be Amarok, checking on her, so she made herself get up to answer it. “Hello?”
“You’re still at the prison?” he asked.
She steadied herself by leaning on the conference table. “Yeah. I’ve been trying to catch up on a few things.”
“Sounds like I woke you.”
“I was lying down, but I wasn’t quite asleep.”
“At the office?”
She tucked some hair, which had fallen from the tie holding the rest of it back, behind her ear. “The couch in the conference room isn’t a bad place to sleep.”
“So you’re not going home.”
“No. If you were there, I would, but…”
“That’s probably for the best. After what happened last winter, and what’s going on now, I’d rather have you at the prison.”
“When will you be back?”
“It’s going to take me a while. That’s why I’m calling. When I couldn’t reach you at home, I figured you’d be at work. I’m at my father’s place, and I’d like to stay over so I can talk to a detective with the Anchorage PD who’s supposed to be really good at solving homicides. I want to make sure I’ve covered all my bases at the crime scene, maybe even ask him to come out and double-check that I haven’t missed anything.”
As far as she was concerned, having another observer at the cabin—one with more experience than Amarok had in forensics—would be great. “Do it. And I’ll stay here rather than fight the weather.”
That was a lame excuse for sleeping over. She was fighting something much bigger than the weather, and he knew it. But he didn’t call her on her bullshit. “Are you sure you’ll be able to get enough rest there?”
She’d get a lot more than she would at home, listening to the storm rage and fearing that each scratch or bump was Jasper trying to break in. If it was Jasper who’d taken and/or killed Sierra, maybe that was why he’d done it—to draw Amarok away from her. That would be like him. He was the craftiest killer she’d ever met. He could look people in the face and make the most outlandish lie seem completely credible. “I should. Tomorrow’s Saturday, so it’ll be quiet around here. It’s not as though the staff will be showing up bright and early.”
“They won’t be showing up at all, will they?”
“No, but some of the psychology team could come in to work on one of our studies or catch up on paperwork, like I’m doing.”
“I wish I could pick you up and take you home with me.”
He was worried about her. “I’m fine,” she insisted. “You have to do your job.”
After that, they talked about Brianne. Amarok had called her since Evelyn had rushed off to work, and she’d agreed to come. She was trying to get a plane ticket. Then they confirmed that Sigmund, the cat, had enough food. He did, because Evelyn had filled the automatic feeder just this morning. Amarok had left Makita at home so she’d have the dog with her tonight, but he’d sent Phil over to walk him and feed him at dinnertime, so Makita was set until morning, too. As the conversation was winding down, Amarok asked, “Have you called your doctor yet?”
The change in subject threw her, but she could tell he’d been waiting to ask this question through most of the other chitchat. “About what?”
“About that appointment for me to be tested.”
She held her breath. He was talking about testing his fertility so they could have a child, but she wasn’t going to make that appointment. Not now. She couldn’t go through a pregnancy in her current condition, didn’t think she could do it until Jasper was caught, and she was beginning to lose faith that would ever happen. “Amarok…”
He sighed when he heard the reluctance in her voice. “Don’t answer. I already know what you’re going to say,” he said, and hung up.
Evelyn’s chest constricted as she stared down at the phone. At first, she thought she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. But the next thing she knew, a blinding rage welled up from somewhere deep inside her, and she started bashing the handset into the base, breaking the phone. “Damn you, Jasper!” she screamed. “Damn your rotten, evil soul!”
She’d cut her hand by the time she sank, sobbing, to the floor.
*
Jasper was hungover when he drove up to the prison. The night with the stripper hadn’t gone well. He’d managed to refrain from hurting her or losing his temper to the point that she’d remember it and tell others he was dangerous. But he had only so much restraint, and he’d used all of it. Just remembering how resistant she’d been to letting him do certain things made him angry. She’d snorted his coke, gotten what she wanted, but left him unsatisfied.
He should’ve forced her, should’ve taken her to his dungeon, tortured and killed her for her defiance. He’d recently dumped two bodies; he could always dump a third. But he’d been seen with her at the club, so he resisted that urge. He couldn’t let anyone know about his dungeon, especially someone he planned to keep alive. That room was reserved for Evelyn.
As he stopped at the security checkpoint by the perimeter fence, he barely grunted at the guard who came out to check his ID and inspect his truck using a mirror to see the undercarriage. He was too busy wondering if it wouldn’t be better to say he was sick and go back home. That raw hunger, the beast that rose up inside him and made him crave the darkest of things, was so close to the surface, so difficult to control. If he wasn’t extremely careful, he’d do something to give himself away.
But then he saw Evelyn’s SUV parked in her covered spot and stomped on the brake. What was she doing at the prison? She often came in on weekends or after hours, but this was four in the morning on a Saturday. He’d never seen her here at that time before.
The thought that she and Amarok might’ve had a fight, that she might’ve stayed over because of some discord between them, filled him with excitement. Suddenly he knew he wouldn’t be able to make himself leave right away. He wanted to be where she was. The thought of her sleeping over, so unaware of the danger he posed and so accessible to him with no one else in that entire wing, made him hard.