DEATH (The Justice Cycle Book 1) J Kiefer (ebook reader .txt) 📖

into her jacket pocket and turned to face him. Her dark brown eyes bored into his ice blue ones, giving away far more than she had intended to. He smiled at her warmly, but his eyes did not mirror that warmth.

“So what’s going on?” Steve said, breaking the silence but not the tension. “Binghamton’s finest have been here making a terrible racket ever since I woke up. I finally decided to crack the door and steal a peek when I saw you walking by on your phone.”

His easy smile was disarming, and Dana’s resolve cracked a bit. Maybe she was wrong about him. After all, they had grown up together and were practically family. Maybe she was just being paranoid and allowing the grief of Jared’s loss to cause her to look for boogie men in every shadow. This was Steve, after all. He may be a bit of a jerk, she thought, but he’s not a killer. Her hand dropped from her weapon.

“The maintenance man found another dead girl,” she told him.

“Really? Any connection to the other two girls?”

Dana locked eyes with Steve, and suddenly the full weight of her emotional and physical exhaustion hit. Steve reached out to steady her, but as soon as his hand touched her shoulder, a jolt of anger surged through her, dispelling the weariness she was feeling. She batted away his hand.

“Don’t touch me,” she growled, her eyes flashing with fire.

Steve put his hands up and stepped back. “Whoa now, Dana, I was just trying to help. You looked like you were about to pass out. Jeeze, what’s gotten into you, anyway? Your usual defensiveness seems to be turned up to eleven.”

She glowered at him but did not relax. She watched him as he smiled warmly attempting to calm her. Her outburst had drawn the attention of some of the other officers and they looked ready to head over. She exhaled deliberately and calmed herself before waving them off.

“It’s nothing. I’m just tired,” she replied, attempting to mask the underlying suspicion she felt.

“I get it,” he said, leaning back against the door frame. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Remembering that he had seen her smoking the other day, he held out the pack. She shook her head, so he shrugged and lit his cigarette.

Steve said, “I haven’t seen you since the funeral. I would’ve come by to check on you, but I figured it was best to leave you alone for a while.”

Dana’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah.”

Steve watched her as he exhaled, expecting her to say more, but she did not. After a few minutes of silence where she seemed lost in her own thoughts, Steve put out his cigarette. “Well, since the excitement is over for the night, I guess I’ll head back inside. You take care of yourself and let me know if you need a friend.”

“Steve,” she called to him softly. Her head was bowed, her fists clenched at her sides.

A warm smile was painted onto Steve’s face, but inwardly warning bells were going off in alarm.

She knows, he thought.

He reached back and allowed the inky darkness to coalesce into a blade. Dana was still not looking at him. His mind raced as he contemplated his next course of action.

The impulsive Steve wanted to damn the consequences and strike, but something inside warned him to pause. Maybe her sudden change in demeanor had nothing to do with him. Certainly if he attacked her now, a swarm of police officers would descend on him before he had time to escape. Plus, Dana was no slouch, and he knew she could handle herself. No, he would not strike just yet. He’d wait to see how this all played out before he acted.

Dana finally raised her head to look at him. Her large brown eyes bore into him with such fire that he felt uncomfortable under her gaze. When she spoke, her voice was calm and controlled but held the same intensity as her eyes. “I just wanted you to know that I will find out who killed Jared, and when I do, I will make sure that they never hurt anyone else again.”

“I have no doubt you will,” he replied. “And I am sure he will go away for a long—”

Dana cut him off with a raised hand. “No, Steve. Let me make this very clear. When I find them, and make no mistake I will, I am going to personally make sure that they never hurt anyone again. No trial, no judge, no passing go and collecting two hundred dollars. Just simple and unadulterated justice.”

“Well now,” Steve said, his lips curled in a smirk. “That is not very police-like of you. Besides, are you sure that when you do finally crack this case, you’ll be able to handle what you find?”

As he spoke Dana noticed that he held one of his hands behind his back. He noticed the slight flick of her eyes and the suspicion that rose up in them and stiffened. They stood glaring at each other before Dana finally relaxed.

She sighed and turned away from Steve and walked back toward the waiting crime scene. He watched her go. He still could not be sure of what she knew, but he could definitely sense hostility and suspicion. Perhaps it was time for him to learn just how much she knew.

“Oh and by the way,” Dana said. “Were you staying here with Jared before we left to go to the city?”

“Yeah. I crashed on the couch. Why do you ask? Does it have something to do with the dead girl in the apartment across the hall?”

She smiled a disarming smile, but it was obviously forced. “Well, the estimated time of death is right about that time. You didn’t happen to see anything, did you?”

He cocked his head as if in thought. “No. Not that I can recall. Of course, I crashed pretty hard that night.”

“Anybody who can verify that?” The predatory look in her eyes belied