In fact, he felt a whole lot better.
Aidan returned home after work and found Cheyenne sitting on the deck out back. She had a bottle of red wine on the table and a glass next to her. She turned the page in the book she was reading, then reached for the wine glass. She took a sip and set it on the table.
Aidan shut the door, careful not to make a sound, then leaned forward to kiss her neck.
Her first reaction was a gasp, then she let out a contented sigh.
“You seem to be in a good mood tonight,” she whispered.
“I am,” he told her. Aidan took the book from her hand, set it on the table and pulled her to her feet. “In fact, I'm in a very good mood.”
He swept her off her feet and Cheyenne let out a shrieking giggle. Opening the door, Aidan carried her inside, up the stairs and to the master bedroom. He tossed her on the bed and climbed on top of her.
“You're sweaty,” Cheyenne muttered as he lifted her shirt over her head.
“Yeah, Shaun and I went to a boxing gym,” he explained. “Worked up a sweat.”
Aidan peered into her eyes as he worked to undo her shorts.
“Want me to take a shower first?”
“Yes.” She propped herself with her elbows and planted a kiss on his lips. “But I'll join you.”
Aidan's lips curved in a smile and released a low growl. He peeled off his sweaty shirt as Cheyenne started the shower. As Aidan continued to undress, his cell phone rang.
He grabbed it from the dresser. The caller ID read unavailable.
“O'Reilly.”
“Oh, good, I caught you.”
Aidan heard a scream in the background.
The hairs on the nape of his neck stood at attention and chills rolled up his back. His throat closed, and he couldn't swallow.
“Who is this?”
Cheyenne appeared in the doorway from the bathroom. The expression on her face told him she knew something was wrong.
“Please,” a weak voice begged in the background.
Aidan heard a sound that sounded like a baseball bat splintering against a wooden fence. Next, came the cries of pain.
“Stop it!” he exclaimed into the phone. “Let her go.”
“I just wanted you to know, we’re having a marvelous time. Are you?”
His heart hammered in his chest as he stood in Laura's bedroom, helpless to stop him from hurting the woman. Aidan heard the cracking sounds and cries a few more times before the call was lost.
Aidan's hands shook, and his knees became weak. It was then gravity failed him and he fell to the carpet. Cheyenne rushed to his side.
“Aidan!”
He couldn't speak. He couldn't move. He could only hear the sounds of pain echoing in the air.
Cheyenne, teary-eyed, consoled him for a few minutes until he found his voice.
“I need to call Shaun.”
29
AIDAN woke SATURDAY morning to the smell of pancakes and the crackling of thunder. Climbing out of bed, he made a beeline for the window and parted the curtains to see the rain coming down in torrents. It was light out, but the sun remained hidden behind thick, dark clouds. Lightning struck the sky in one long bolt across the starless heavens.
He still wasn't able to get the phone call from the night before out of his mind. Aidan had a feeling that soon they would be informing Ben Ridgeway his wife, Jane, was dead.
Aidan had spoken to Shaun for two hours last night, discussing the phone call. The conversation didn't need to be long. There wasn't much to do about it except have the lab guys trace it, only to find the offender used a burner. Although minutes seemed to stretch into hours, the phone call from the offender only lasted thirty-five seconds.
Aidan took a quick shower, dressed, and headed down the stairs.
“Something smells good,” he commented.
“Good morning,” Cheyenne said. Although he couldn’t see her face, Aidan could hear the worry in her words.
He wrapped his hands around her body and she sank into him.
“I wish you could stay home with me today.”
“I do too,” he told her.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah.” He kissed her temple and moved toward the coffee pot.
The thunder resonated through the morning.
“Were you able to sleep last night?” Cheyenne asked as she turned the pancakes over.
Aidan poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter.
“A little.”
As they spoke, his mind drifted to what he needed to do at work.
His first order of business would be to find out if they'd been able to trace the call to his cell.
After breakfast was made, Cheyenne and Aidan sat at the kitchen table, blessed their food and the day. He chewed his first bite when his cell phone rang.
It was Shaun calling.
Stuffing another thick square of pancake into his mouth, Aidan answered.
“Are you sitting?” he said.
“Yeah.” Something in his words snagged Aidan's attention. He swallowed the pancakes with a big, uneasy gulp.
Shaun hesitated, then sighed. “We’ve got another one.”
The fork slipped through Aidan's fingers and clattered to his plate.
“Where?”
Shaun said it was the woman who had been reported missing earlier in the week: Jane Ridgeway. She had been killed in the same manner as the others and dumped at the Lady Antebellum Pavilion. An elderly couple had found the body.
Aidan closed his eyes tight, drawing in a shaky breath. After pushing it out, he released a soft curse, which was drowned by the rumbling thunder.
The offender called Aidan as he was killing her.
A chill crawled through his spine.
“Here’s the interesting part,” Shaun continued. As Aidan listened, he pushed his chair back and rose. “The female witness claims to have seen a man leaving
