Why was Jason striking out at him the way he had?

Sweat pooled under his arms. Had Jason discovered the shed?

Everyone had secrets. His were firmly locked away inside the shed and out in the forest. He wasn’t proud of his weakness; he’d worked hard to control his urges. Even the shed looked innocent to a casual observer, but with a little digging, his world could be turned upside down.

His grandson could destroy him.

He was physically too weak to make any changes in the shed now. It was a rare day when he could walk out there without panting for breath.

He needed to see Jason.

Leo ended the call with his father.

How dense could the old man be? Did he see nothing?

The elder was losing it. For someone who’d led people for decades, the man was no longer logical. Perhaps it was simply aging. Perhaps his brain was rotting from the inside. How else could you explain the man’s actions over the years?

Why did his father still shove Victoria Peres in his face? Anger burned up his throat. The woman was an abomination. Women shouldn’t do what she does. She pranced around the country, showing off her knowledge, speaking at colleges, speaking at national seminars. That was a role for a man.

He knew she’d failed in her marriage. No doubt she’d driven the man away with her unfemale aggressiveness.

Someone needed to use a heavy hand with her. Show her how an obedient woman should act.

He paced the small bedroom in his house. It should be his role. He had the right to show her how a woman should act. His father hadn’t stepped forward to take care of it. Didn’t that mean the responsibility fell to him?

Excitement shot through him, like a stimulant had been injected into his veins.

He wanted her to know that he’d snagged her skulls out from under her watchful eye. He needed her to know that she wasn’t the perfect woman she presented herself as. He wanted the satisfaction of seeing her fear him, admire him. His eyes closed. He could see her dressed in the flowing white dresses of the dead teens, her long black hair spread out on the ground around her, her skin a bloodless white.

He stopped and stared in the small mirror above his dresser. He had to give the stolen skulls to his father. But he knew where to find more. A lot more.

He wanted to send Victoria a message that she was being watched. What better delivery system than bones?

The pounding rain made the streets hard for Seth to see in the dark. Lack of street lighting simply made it worse. At least the traffic was light. At this late hour, few cars were on the road. Seth squinted and slowed his car, turning his wipers up to full blast. They whipped back and forth across his windshield, attacking the rain that dared to land upon the surface.

“I love this weather,” Tori said from the passenger’s seat. Seth wanted to look at her but didn’t dare take his eyes from the road.

“I didn’t know it could rain like this. This is crazy.”

“But being indoors while it rains like this gives you that cozy, safe feeling.”

Seth wanted to argue that they weren’t indoors, and he was feeling anything but safe driving on a road that he could barely see. His steering wheel gave a small shudder and he felt the tires hydroplane.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered. The moment was gone before his startled brain could think how to react. He struggled to remember what to do when a vehicle hydroplaned.

Foot off the gas. Don’t hit the brakes.

He risked a glance at Tori. She was staring straight ahead, a serene look on her face. He wondered if she’d even felt him lose control of the car. The last time he’d seen her this mellow was during their dinner that night at the conference in Denver.

He’d spotted her at registration. He saw her from the back. She was bundled up in a coat, but he’d known right away it was her. His gaze had instantly locked on to the woman with the long black hair. Something about the way she carried herself had resonated in his bones. He knew her. He’d moved slowly in her direction, not letting her out of his sight as she accepted her badge and bag from the registrar. As she turned, she’d looked right at him and not blinked, her gaze locked with his. She hadn’t seemed surprised; perhaps she’d spotted him earlier and not reached out? It didn’t matter. All he wanted was to spend time with her.

They’d played it cool. Greeting each other like old acquaintances and agreeing to dinner like you would with an old friend to catch up. During the meal, she’d been pleasant but reserved. They’d shared the events of their lives, talking about their spouses, work, and Eden. They’d danced around the causes of the actual breakup, but she’d oohed and aahed over his pictures of his daughter with no anger or jealousy on her face. He’d hoped she could respect that he’d made the right choice. But after the dinner as they walked back to her hotel room, she’d stopped him in the hall at her door and looked deep into his eyes.

“I’ve always wondered if you thought about me. If you’d wondered what you walked away from. I know you love your daughter, but do you ever wonder what could have been with us?”

It’d been a surreal moment. One he blamed on wine and the removal of themselves from their real lives. That’s what happens at conferences. People are separated from their everyday routines and feel free to take steps they wouldn’t usually take.

She’d been gorgeous. Her eyes large and dark in the dim light, and she’d worn heels and a sexy dress. She’d never dressed that way in college. He was seeing Tori the woman wielding all her feminine weapons for the first time. And she took his breath away. She’d fulfilled all the potential she’d demonstrated in school. Smart, respected in her field, and all woman.