Detective Kayleigh Tance fell for Tegan Riker, and she fell hard. When her lover turned out to be the serial killer she was hunting, Kayleigh fell apart.
Now three years later, she's rebuilt her life, but when a new killer decides to carry on Tegan...
The cold metallic blade sliced through the skin on Kayleigh's thigh as she hissed in pain. She swore three years ago she wouldn't hurt herself again. Kayleigh vowed she would never let herself fall into that place of darkness again.
She'd made that promise the day Tegan's trial ended. Kayleigh also vowed her former lover would never get inside her head again.
Both she broke the moment started listening to Tegan's confession. She let her thigh bleed as she pulled up the crime scene photos from Sandy Stepoke's murder. She never saw the scene in the flesh.
Kayleigh was on compassionate leave when Tegan killed her. Delilah's death had hit her hard. That's when the self-harming started.
As she poured herself another drink, she couldn't help thinking about the baby. Sandy's child would be nearly four now. On the worse days, the only thing that gave Kayleigh comfort was Tegan didn't harm that child.
Despite being a monster in human flesh, she didn't harm that baby. It made her feel slightly better about the woman she'd let into her bed.
She combed through the photos looking for things she missed three years ago, ignoring the sting of the cut on her thigh.
But nothing stood out. Zero in those pictures showed any connection to the scene they found three days ago.
Sandy Stepoke was killed in bed while asleep in her home. Leia Anderson was wide awake when someone cut her throat in an abandoned warehouse.
Leia Anderson was fully clothed, and Sandy Stepoke was naked. Tegan Riker killed Sandy in revenge for Penny.
Tegan was in prison and had no reason to kill Leia. Yet the same knife killed both victims.
They'd found dried blood on the handle of the knife matching. It was Sandy Stepoke's. The only fingerprints on the knife belonged to Tegan.
She knows Nina saw her shake slightly at those results. Kayleigh had done so well rebuilding the tattered remains of her life. She didn't need the unique brand of a psychopath that was Tegan Riker back in her life.
The day Tegan confessed, she never hinted at having a partner helping her commit her crimes. There was no evidence at that time she had help. Everything Kayleigh knew about her ex-lover was she worked best alone.
She couldn't picture Tegan trusting anyone to help with her task of avenging Penny. But she was definitely pulling the strings of this new killer. Kayleigh could feel it in the pit of her stomach.
"Why now?" She asked herself out loud. "What do you want?".
The sound of her phone ringing interrupted her train of thought.
"Detective Tance speaking," Kayleigh said, looking at her watch. It was three o'clock in the morning. She was tired.
She was drunk. Kayleigh hoped neither things were noticeable in her voice.
"Kayleigh, it's Nina. The press knows about Tegan's fingerprints on the murder weapon. I thought I'd give you the heads."
Kayleigh knew they would find out sooner or later.
She'd been hoping for later. The press had crucified her after Tegan's arrest and during her trial.
Detective Bedded Serial Killer was on the headlines.
They blamed her for not stopping Tegan sooner. After all, they were close. How could Kayleigh miss what she was?
Back then, she'd considered quitting the force. But Nina had got her to say with her, "It's what Tegan wants you to do. She's destroyed enough lives. Don't let her destroy yours too."
"Thanks, Nina. Any more information about the victim? Anything that could tie to Tegan?"
"No, and it scares me. Why now, Kayleigh? We both know she's behind this pulling the strings. Why has Tegan done this now? You knew her better than anyone. What's going on in that twisted head of hers?"
Kayleigh could never explain to Nina or anyone that Tegan was a unique brand of evil. She was impossible to figure out, and only once she'd finished causing pain would she reveal her justification for doing it.
And Tegan always had a justification for the things she did. No matter how depraved or sick those actions were.
Sometimes, Kayleigh wondered if Penny hadn't killed herself, would Tegan have gone on to kill? Most of the time, she thought it was inevitable. Something would have triggered her to do it sooner or later.
"I don't know Nina, but she's going to love her face being in the press again, and it'll probably spur whoever she's working with to kill again,"
Tegan had struggled to make friends her entire life when she was on the outside, but when she went to prison, she gained a fan club. People who admired her works.
The worst killers always attracted interest.
Some because they were interested in what makes a person kill. Why do some people kill and others don't?
Others because they wished they could kill but feared prison or hurting their families. Always something thankfully prevented them from murdering anyone.
Kayleigh knew whoever was behind this would have to be someone Tegan trusted. Somebody she respected, and she couldn't see it being one of her fans.
She couldn't see it being anyone. That was part of the problem.
There was something she was missing, and she was sure that the past held the answer.
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