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fault.
    Then Rainey put his hands on the slut’s shoulders and set her firmly away.
    The wild cacophony in his head abated somewhat. Still, he’d have to teach the cop another lesson. He clearly hadn’t learned well enough the first two times.
    Cheeks flaming at his rejection, the blond slut clutched her fussy little purse and made for the exit, head down.
    He couldn’t leave right away, but he knew how and where to find her.
    Calling it a night at last, he followed unnoticed through the sea of revelers.
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    Austin peeled off his clothes and slid naked between the crisp cotton sheets with a satisfied groan. Oh yeah, it felt nice to stretch out on his back. Sink into the soft king-sized mattress and let his bones melt. God, what a shitty couple of days it had been.
    But the day can always get worse,
he reminded himself.
    The chirp of the cell phone on his nightstand jerked him from the pleasant fog of near sleep. Propping himself on one elbow, he peered at the caller ID.
BLOCKED NUMBER
. For two seconds, he considered letting it go to voice mail. But in his line of work, the caller might be any number of people.
    Son of a bitch, this better be important
. He snatched the phone, imagining it was the caller’s throat. “Hello?”
    A low male voice sent a shiver down his spine. “I took care of her, the dumb bitch. She learned her lesson about getting near the likes of you.”
    â€œWhat?” He blinked in confusion. “I’m sorry. You must have the wrong number.”
    â€œOh, I have the right number, Captain Rainey.” A low laugh sounded from the other end. “I had to make my point, because you’re just not getting it.”
    Cold fingers curled around his heart and squeezed. Austin sat up, the sheets falling to his hips. “Who the hell is this?
What
point?”
    The voice tightened, became more clipped. “You ruined my life, and now I’m going to ruin yours.”
    He searched the shadows of his bedroom, the shrinking steel band constricting his lungs. “How did I ruin your life?”
    The caller ignored the question. “I’m going to punish you until you can’t take any more. Then I’m going to end you.”
    â€œDid you kill Matt Blankenship? My wife and son? Because I swear to God—”
    â€œSweet dreams, Rainey. I’m gonna sleep like a baby.”
    The line went dead.
    Austin’s thoughts shattered and he stared into nothingness. Blank with shock, unable to react. Phone in hand, he sat motionless, heart slamming in his chest. Long after he should’ve called Glenn, Danny, and his detectives.
    Long after the revelation froze his blood in horror, and he began to shake.
    â€œOh my God,” he whispered, closing his eyes. “Oh God.”
    The monster on the phone had killed his family.
    And his reign of terror had justbegun.

4
    Austin strode through the station, fielding the expected greetings from officers and other staff members who hadn’t seen him since his major fuckup followed by the hospital stay.
    It was humbling to say the least. He was not in the best of moods when he arrived at Glenn’s office, shutting the door behind him. Danny was already there and the two men studied him in concern.
    Danny frowned. “Jesus, you look terrible.”
    Austin snarled a curse and dropped into a chair next to his friend. He ran a hand down his face, drawn and haggard from little sleep. His knew his eyes were bloodshot and tired.
    â€œThe tap is in place on my phones, both here and at home,” Austin announced. “For all the good it will do.”
    The chief leaned forward, all traces of his earlier humor vanished. “Do you have any idea at all how in the hell you picked up a stalker? Think back months, years. A strange case, or an altercation with one of your arrests that might not have seemed important at the time. Anything.”
    He shook his head.