Sentencing Sapphire (Sapphire Dubois: Book 3)

Chapter 1

The first time it happened, Bennett Rivers told himself he'd never do it again.

This was a lie. He was hooked the second her life surged through the blade and into him. It just took him a while to accept what he was.

Bennett took his eyes off the road that snaked through the California vineyards. He beamed at the girl in his passenger seat. She smiled back-warm, sexy, and innocent all at once.

It had been a lovely first date. She'd been giddy all night and had made this cute, shy titter whenever Bennett took her hand. She was into him. Too bad for her, there wouldn't be a second date.

"Are we almost there, Josh?" she asked, bringing a curly lock behind her ear.

Josh. He had picked a good, trustworthy name on Match. He'd chosen a girl from Christian Mingle a few months back and picked the wrong name on his profile: Jude. It must've reminded her of Judas, which automatically made her think he was up to no good. She'd run, but Bennett was faster.

"Not much farther now."

He turned off the main road lined with streetlamps and into the darkness of the graveled country path. "Just a few miles up."

"Jeez, it must take you two hours to get to work."

"God no, the mall is just off the freeway."

Her head cocked. "But your profile said you work at IKEA. The closest IKEA is in Sacramento."

Fuck. She was right. He'd made up so many profiles to keep the cops off his trail that he'd mixed up his latest one from Match with one from OkCupid. "Right, I just started a new job."

"Oh..." He wasn't sure she believed him so he switched the conversation to get her mind off the slip, until he pulled up to his cabin.

"Home sweet home," he said, helping her out of the car.

"I don't know if I'd dare live out here by myself." She shivered and nodded to the dark crops. "What if a psycho was lurking out there?"

"I can guarantee you there's no psycho lurking out there." Bennett put a protective arm around her shoulder. I'm right here.

They went inside and he made the tea he'd invited her over for. He didn't blame her, or any of the others, for coming home with him on the first date. Like most people, they wanted love and they were scared to lose out on the opportunity of a soul mate. Bennett wasn't particularly good looking, but he fancied himself the type of man a woman could settle for.

Bennett poured her the tea then excused himself to the bathroom. He grabbed his straight razor, waited a minute, then flushed to make his absence sound legit. He returned to find the kitchen empty and panicked. Had she gotten suspicious after all and bolted the second he closed the bathroom door? That's what happened with the girl from Christian Mingle.

He spotted her by the living room window, gazing at the full moon. He exhaled and held the razor behind his back as he approached.

"The moon looks so much brighter away from the city lights," she murmured.

He pushed himself against her back and stroked her full, curly hair. Her hair was the reason he picked her among hundreds of profiles. She, and his other girls, had the same thick, curly hair Jessica Mitchell had in eighth grade.

Bennett the Degenerate she'd called him. The name still made his blood boil.

Bennett was a small kid and hadn't hit his growth spurt until he was sixteen. Until then, Jessica Mitchell, a girl, had beaten him, ridiculed him, and trapped him in too many lockers.