Striking Distance. Debra Webb

      “Don’t ever do that again.”

      Ignoring the fury seething in every part of him, she lifted her chin defiantly and demanded, “And just what will you do about it if I do.”

      He kissed her.

      Savagely.

      Then he drew back and looked into her eyes. “Get out.”

      She didn’t hesitate this time. She scrambled out of the vehicle and strode to her building without looking back. Not until she was inside her own apartment, with the door closed and locked behind her, did she allow herself to breathe easy.

      She thought of all she’d learned about him from their brief encounters. The way he’d locked her in that basement. The bizarre tattoo...the way he tried to hurt her even when he kissed her.

      Whatever else she felt or imagined she felt, one thing was a certainty...this guy was dangerous.

      Extremely dangerous.

      To her.

      Chapter 16

      “Where’s Lucas?”

      “He’s on his way, ma’am,” Logan told Victoria. “I’ve checked the package thoroughly. It appears to be safe, but I’d rather you wait for Lucas’s arrival before we open it.”

      Victoria looked to Ian and then to Simon. Both men looked as uncertain about this as she felt.

      She hadn’t needed John Logan to rush in and snatch the package from her hands to know something was wrong. The young woman who’d delivered it had given her the undeniable impression that she should be afraid.

      Victoria closed her eyes and tried to steady the spinning in her head. She wasn’t sure she possessed the fortitude to get through this. It was bad enough that an assassin was stalking her, but the ice cream...now this.

      Leberman, the son of a bitch, why didn’t he just confront her face-to-face? Why all the subterfuge? All the games?

      Because the sick bastard gets off on the pain he inflicts. She knew the answer. Understood perfectly why he was doing this to her. Still, she couldn’t fully come to terms with it.

      Victoria opened her eyes and stared at the package. Her only regret was that she couldn’t kill the bastard here and now.

      From his hotel only minutes away, where he’d set up a mini command post, Lucas arrived just then, his gaze going first to her, then settling on the package lying in the middle of her desk.

      “That’s it?” He looked to Logan and then to Ian.

      Both men nodded. Logan told him, “I can’t find any indication of explosives or poisonous substances. Scans indicate a nonmetal object.”

      “Clear the room,” Lucas commanded. “I don’t want anyone in here when I open it.”

      “Absolutely not,” Victoria argued. “The package is addressed to me, I’ll open it.”

      “I’ll open it.” Simon stepped toward her desk.

      Simon had a new wife. Ian had a wife and two children. And Logan had a wife, as well. Victoria looked to each of the trusted men and ordered, “Leave my office. I want to do this alone.”

      Ian shook his head. “Not going to happen, Victoria. Either allow one of us to open the package, or we’ll stand here and debate the point all evening.”

      She surveyed the determined male faces around the room. All were prepared to die to protect her. Every damned one of them was as stubborn as she was.

      “All right.” She stepped back. “Open it.”

      Simon quickly stepped in front of Ian. Simon had done time with the FBI and was fearless when it came to doing his duty. He was just one of many fine investigators Victoria employed. She prayed the evil that had followed her life for nearly two decades would not touch him now.

      Using the gloves and utility cutter Logan had brought into the office, Simon carefully slit the packaging. He pulled back the outer wrapping and cut the tape sealing the lid on the small box. He dragged the package a little closer and cautiously lifted the lid.

      He studied the contents for a moment before allowing his gaze to meet Victoria’s. She saw the uncertainty there a split second before he turned the box around where she could see what it held.

      A small blue sneaker was the only item in the box.

      She didn’t have to touch it or inspect it in any way. She recognized it immediately. She knew everyone in the room was waiting for her to say something...but she couldn’t speak. She could only stand there, as the tears spilled down her cheeks, and stare at the small shoe her son had been wearing the day he disappeared.

      Chapter 17

      He drove back to the house in Oak Park well after dark. He’d waited until Victoria Colby had left her office, her protector, Lucas Camp, and his two men close by, and then he’d followed her home.

      It hadn’t been necessary for him to see her face as she opened the package. He saw all he needed to in her pained, stoic profile while she pretended to go about her daily routine as she left the office. He was satisfied.

      They knew he was watching, but they did nothing. He’d wondered at that in the beginning but he understood now. They had what they considered an ace in the hole. And Victoria Colby would want to see how this game played out. She wanted the truth. She wanted Leberman.

      As, he imagined, did Lucas Camp.

      He laughed softly as he considered what lay before them. Victoria Colby couldn’t possibly imagine the horrors in store for her before the blessed relief of death would come. He almost hated to allow it to end that way.

      He backed into the driveway that flanked the house he used for the time being. He hated coming back here, but it was a necessary part of the strategy. Though he enjoyed the buildup, the crescendo of death would be lessened immensely, in his opinion, by this grandstanding.

      But it was not his decision to make.

      As he did each time he returned, he searched the grounds, considered the windows and doors for any subtle change in the way he’d left them.

      He knew immediately that he had a visitor.

      A careful one.

      Like smoke, soundless and camouflaged by the darkness, he stole into the house. His visitor waited in the darkness of the inner hall, like a cancer lying dormant before it struck its unsuspecting victim. Being in this house again with him gnawed at Seth’s gut like the sharp hunger pains he’d once known in that dark place he’d called home.

      “What do you want?” he demanded.

      He didn’t want him here. Had no desire to speak with him or to see him.

      Leberman flipped on the overhead light switch, leveling the playing field since he could not see so well in the dark. He blinked to adjust his vision.

      “You made the delivery?” he demanded without preamble.

      “Yes.” Seth squashed the sensation of fear that, even now...after all these years, tried to surface. He reminded himself that he was not afraid of anything—most especially this son of a bitch.

      Leberman nodded. “Good. And the rest is on schedule?”

      “I don’t want you here.” He clenched his jaw hard to hold back the emotion he refused to allow. Control was essential.

      Leberman met his gaze, those beady eyes showing no fear. The tables had turned in recent years. He was a fool not to fear him. “I know you don’t want me here. You despise me now.” He circled him slowly, inspecting him as he had hundreds of times before. Seth resisted the instinct to stiffen. “I know exactly how you feel about me,” Leberman continued. He moved back in front