didn’t surprise him at all.
When he was done he put everything back where it belonged, turned off the light, and flushed the toilet. Then he padded back to bed, stashing his phone back in his pocket before climbing underneath the covers.
***
Nikki lay on her back, breathing evenly, pretending to be asleep.
It had been a long time since she’d had a real conversation with anyone but Jack—and with Jack, it was nothing but shop talk. Talking, drinking, even dancing with Nick had been . . . nice.
Nice. Nikki could hardly remember what the word meant.
She’d taken him home more out of gratitude than any desire for sex, and made it abundantly clear that all she could offer was tonight. He’d hidden his disappointment with a joke, and she found that almost unbearably sweet. It was like he came from another planet, a world without human predators and everyday horror, the kind of place where you could seriously consider falling in love or maybe even raising a family.
Now she was wondering if she’d made a mistake.
Jack wasn’t here, of course. She’d asked for a night to herself, and he’d given it to her without asking any questions. He was probably laying groundwork, stocking up on certain supplies—
No. She didn’t want to think about that.
She shouldn’t have brought him back here, should have insisted they go back to his place. Why had she done that?
Because she hadn’t wanted to just play tourist in someone else’s mundane life. She’d wanted to drag some of that life into her own, shed a little light on the shadows where she lived.
She smiled to herself in the dark. She didn’t want a knight in shining armor; she’d settle for a guy with a flashlight.
Ultimately, though, she was just trying to distract herself from what lay ahead. Was she still strong enough to do what she had to?
Yes , she thought. I am. As long as there aren’t any nasty surprises along the way . . .
She heard the toilet flush.
C HAPTER S EVEN
He left before dawn, without waking her.
He did leave her a note though, thanking her for an amazing night, and his phone number in case she changed her mind about getting together again. Nikki smiled and stuck the note in a drawer, knowing she’d never call it. It was nice to know, though—in fact, it was the most pleasant evening she’d spent in a long time.
Then she got out her suitcase and started to pack. She had twenty-four hours to get from Vancouver to Sacramento and meet Jack.
Playtime was over. Time to go to work.
***
He left before dawn, without waking her.
The morning was foggy, gray light filtering down onto the damp Portland streets. Tanner fantasized about what he could do with the information he’d gathered as he strolled along, enjoying the sense of isolation. The information on the prescription labels would get him access to her records via the Medical Information Bureau, a business used by insurance companies to gather data on prospective clients—usually so they could deny them coverage based on a pre-existing condition. He suspected she had such a condition, based on the fact that the medication had been labeled with two similar yet different names.
Kim Gonzalez and Kimberly Gutierrez—he wondered if either was genuine. She was definitely Latino, with her coal-black hair and dark eyes--might even be an illegal. Threatening to get her medical coverage cancelled would be good, but the possibility of deportation would be even better; he could use that as a lever to get her to do all sorts of things. The same sorts of things he’d already done to her, in fact.
But it was always better when they had no choice.
***
Another town, another Stroll. At least Sacramento didn’t have snow on the ground—though the November wind raking Nikki’s fishnet-clad legs was anything but warm.
There were usually around fifty serial killers operating at any given moment in the US;
When he was done he put everything back where it belonged, turned off the light, and flushed the toilet. Then he padded back to bed, stashing his phone back in his pocket before climbing underneath the covers.
***
Nikki lay on her back, breathing evenly, pretending to be asleep.
It had been a long time since she’d had a real conversation with anyone but Jack—and with Jack, it was nothing but shop talk. Talking, drinking, even dancing with Nick had been . . . nice.
Nice. Nikki could hardly remember what the word meant.
She’d taken him home more out of gratitude than any desire for sex, and made it abundantly clear that all she could offer was tonight. He’d hidden his disappointment with a joke, and she found that almost unbearably sweet. It was like he came from another planet, a world without human predators and everyday horror, the kind of place where you could seriously consider falling in love or maybe even raising a family.
Now she was wondering if she’d made a mistake.
Jack wasn’t here, of course. She’d asked for a night to herself, and he’d given it to her without asking any questions. He was probably laying groundwork, stocking up on certain supplies—
No. She didn’t want to think about that.
She shouldn’t have brought him back here, should have insisted they go back to his place. Why had she done that?
Because she hadn’t wanted to just play tourist in someone else’s mundane life. She’d wanted to drag some of that life into her own, shed a little light on the shadows where she lived.
She smiled to herself in the dark. She didn’t want a knight in shining armor; she’d settle for a guy with a flashlight.
Ultimately, though, she was just trying to distract herself from what lay ahead. Was she still strong enough to do what she had to?
Yes , she thought. I am. As long as there aren’t any nasty surprises along the way . . .
She heard the toilet flush.
C HAPTER S EVEN
He left before dawn, without waking her.
He did leave her a note though, thanking her for an amazing night, and his phone number in case she changed her mind about getting together again. Nikki smiled and stuck the note in a drawer, knowing she’d never call it. It was nice to know, though—in fact, it was the most pleasant evening she’d spent in a long time.
Then she got out her suitcase and started to pack. She had twenty-four hours to get from Vancouver to Sacramento and meet Jack.
Playtime was over. Time to go to work.
***
He left before dawn, without waking her.
The morning was foggy, gray light filtering down onto the damp Portland streets. Tanner fantasized about what he could do with the information he’d gathered as he strolled along, enjoying the sense of isolation. The information on the prescription labels would get him access to her records via the Medical Information Bureau, a business used by insurance companies to gather data on prospective clients—usually so they could deny them coverage based on a pre-existing condition. He suspected she had such a condition, based on the fact that the medication had been labeled with two similar yet different names.
Kim Gonzalez and Kimberly Gutierrez—he wondered if either was genuine. She was definitely Latino, with her coal-black hair and dark eyes--might even be an illegal. Threatening to get her medical coverage cancelled would be good, but the possibility of deportation would be even better; he could use that as a lever to get her to do all sorts of things. The same sorts of things he’d already done to her, in fact.
But it was always better when they had no choice.
***
Another town, another Stroll. At least Sacramento didn’t have snow on the ground—though the November wind raking Nikki’s fishnet-clad legs was anything but warm.
There were usually around fifty serial killers operating at any given moment in the US;
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