Read Online Lisa Jackson's Bentz & Montoya Bundle: Hot Blooded, Cold Blooded, Shiver, Absolute Fear, Lost Souls, Malice, & an Exclusive Extended Excerpt From Devious by Lisa Jackson - Free Book Online

her hands were sweaty and her pulse elevated, she wanted to connect with John again…to find out more. Who was he? Why had he called? He had to be the same man who left her the voice message on her machine and was the same guy who had sent her the mutilated publicity shot. Why was he trying to terrorize her?
    The computer screen showed that Sarah was line one and Tom on two. Three belonged to Marcy. New Orleans was eager to talk about sin, redemption, quote Bible verses and express opinions vociferously about the wages of sin. Two men named John called—neither being the one who had phoned the night before. The hours rolled by into morning and Sam felt a mixture of relief and disappointment. She didn’t believe he would just go away. But there was tomorrow night.
    “Take care of yourself, New Orleans. Good night to you all and God bless. No matter what your troubles are today, there is always tomorrow…. Sweet dreams…” she said, signing off over the sound of music. She yanked off her headset and pushed the appropriate buttons so that the advertisements would flow into the opening for the Lights Out program, then met Melanie in the hallway.
    “I guess my personal creep didn’t have the urge to call.”
    “Disappointed?” Melanie asked, eyebrows elevated. “I just want to know what he’s thinking.”
    “Maybe it’s over. He got his jollies last night and he’s given up…gone on to greener pastures.”
    “Maybe.” Sam wasn’t convinced. In fact, silly as it seemed, she thought he was playing a game with her. That he was listening, knowing she expected him to call, and was trying a new tactic to freak her out.
    “Forget him. You all but begged him to call what with the subject tonight,” Melanie said. “He’s probably bored.”
    “Or he might be more cautious. He doesn’t know that I haven’t talked to the police yet. He could have thought the cops could trace the call.”
    Melanie yawned. “You know, Sam, maybe you’re not as important to him as you think.” She seemed irritated, and added, “It was probably just a kid with a deep voice playing a prank.”
    Sam didn’t think so.
    “You really expected him to call, didn’t you?” Melanie asked, as they walked toward the locker room and Tiny, hurrying in, sped past them.
    “I thought he might.”
    “You wanted him to.”
    Did she? That was kind of a sick thought. “I just figured he might and I could get a little insight into what it was he was talking about last night.” She leaned on one crutch as a sudden thought struck her. “What about when you were hosting the show while I was in Mexico? Did he call you?”
    “Me?” Melanie laughed but the sound seemed brittle. “No way. This one, he’s all yours.”
    “Maybe.”
    “Samantha?” Tiny’s voice called down the hallway. “You’ve got a call on line two. Says his name is John.”
    “What?” She froze for a second.
    “I said—”
    “I heard you.” She twisted around and hitched her way back to the darkened studio, where line two was blinking ominously.
    “It’s your guy,” Tiny whispered, though no one could hear him until she clicked on.
    “Make sure you record this.” Tiny nodded, restarted the tape. Sam grabbed Melanie’s headset and leaned over the console, pushing the flickering button.
    “This is Dr. Sam,” she said.
    “It’s John.” His voice was breathless, yet smooth—as if he was trying to pretend a calm he didn’t feel. “Your John. I know you were expecting me to call, but I was busy.”
    “Who are you?”
    “This is not about me,” he said, and his calm seemed to snap.
    “Sure it is. What is it you want?” A pause. “I thought you’d like to know that what happened is all because of you. It’s your fault. Yours.” Her blood turned to ice. “What—what happened?” she demanded. “You’ll know.”
    Click.
    “What—what will I know?” she asked. The line was dead. “Damn.” She tossed off the headset and stared at the console,