Shadow of Perception (28 page)

Loving the way he filled her, she fisted the pillow and raised her bottom higher.
 

“You’re so damn sexy,” he murmured, and caressed her bottom.
 

She dropped her head into the pillow and groaned as a delicious ripple radiated through her body. When he reached beneath her and rubbed her clit, she raised her head and looked over her shoulder.
 

Their gazes collided. The heat and intensity in his eyes, the way he stroked her sex with his fingers and his thick arousal, caused the delicious ripple to strengthen into a flood of ecstasy. The orgasm ripped through her core. She bucked against him and rode each wave after wave of pure rapture until he came with a low groan.

They collapsed in a heap on the center of the bed. He cradled her in his arms, then kissed her forehead.
 

“Good morning,” he said with a sexy grin.

“It’s a
very
good morning,” she responded, and stretched. “Hungry?”

He nipped her earlobe. “For more of you.”

“Cheese ball,” she teased.

“What can I say? You bring out the best in me.”

She glanced at the window, and even with the blinds drawn, noticed it was still dark. “What time is it?”

“Don’t make me move. I’m too comfortable,” he said, and cuddled her closer.
 

“I’ll tell you what,” she said as she began to disentangle their bodies. “You can rest, while I fix us breakfast. I noticed you’d stocked my fridge. How does an omelet sound?”

“Awesome. And for the record, Lloyd did the stocking.”

“I’ll have to thank him.”

“I did make the grocery list though, so it’s me who deserves a proper thanking. I happen to have a couple of ideas of how you can do that, by the way.”

“I bet you do,” she said as she pulled the sweatshirt she’d worn last night over her head. As she was about to move toward the bathroom, her cell phone rang. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand, then frowned. “It’s six fifteen. This can’t be good.”

He propped himself on his elbow. “Who is it?”

She checked the caller ID and not recognizing the number, shook her head. “Don’t know,” she said, then answered the phone.

“Good morning, Eden. I hope I didn’t wake you and your friend.”

She sat on the edge of the bed, still unsure of the caller’s identity. “I’m sorry, but who is this?”

“My name isn’t important. My message is, though.”
 

Her skin prickled with unease as she looked to Hudson, who had already climbed off the bed and was pulling on his jeans. She mouthed, “It’s the killer,” then pointed to the dresser and motioned with her hands for a pen and paper.
 

“That was very smart of you to install the extra security camera. I’ve been worried about the person who’s been watching you.”

“Thank you for your concern,” she said, and nodded to Hudson as he handed her the pen and paper. “Should I be concerned about you, too?”

Hudson sat next to her, and put his ear close to the phone. She angled the cell, and hoped he could hear the killer’s end of the conversation. Considering she didn’t have a way to record the exchange, she needed an extra set of ears.
 

“Me? No. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. I’d hoped you realized that by now. Especially after the flowers and note I left at the hospital. Are you feeling better?”

“I am. Thank you. Do you work at the hospital?”

 
“I was worried about you,” he said. “You’re too hard on yourself.”

“I appreciate your concern, and I also noticed you avoided my question.”

“Did I? Sorry, no. I don’t need to work at the hospital. As you know, I have my own,
private
OR.”

Despite the heavy sweatshirt, goose bumps skated along her arms as images of the killer’s victims moved through her mind. “Yes, unfortunately.”

“The DVDs are rather…gruesome. I apologize for that, but I do have my reasons.”

“Your message.”

“Exactly. I knew you’d understand.”

“Honestly, I don’t.” Knowing this might be her only opportunity to speak with the killer, she pressed him. “Why the torture? Why not just kill them?”

“Killing them would be too easy,” he responded, his voice remarkably amiable for a man discussing murder. “Do you know what it’s like to hate so much that it festers inside of you until you’re infected with uncontrollable rage? To eat, sleep, and wake to nothing but thoughts of vengeance rivaling the wrath of God? While I’m obviously no god, I am judge, jury and executioner in my OR. And when I’ve finished with my plans, you will understand why.”

While most people would consider this man insane, Eden didn’t. She honestly believed, based on his words and his actions on the DVDs, that Hudson had been right all along. This wasn’t about sending a message to the masses, but about plain old revenge.
 

“I wish you would explain your reasons to me now. Maybe if we talk, another…surgery won’t be necessary. I’m sure you know I haven’t gone to the police. Leave your last two…ah…patients alone and—”

“You’re truly a good person, Eden. I’ve loved two women in my life. Both are dead. You remind me so much of one of them, your looks, the way you push yourself to be the best, only you’re stronger. If only she had been, then none of this would have had to happen.
 
I do appreciate your not going to the police, but chatting about my reasons won’t save my patient.”

“Patients,” she reminded him.

“Hmm? Oh yes, back to the reason I called you. I know I told you that I’d planned to take a few days off, but something came up and it required me to change my schedule. I had to perform a surgery last night, and I have another DVD for you. Because of your new security cameras, and your male guest, I couldn’t leave the DVD at your townhouse.”

She gripped Hudson’s hand. “How do you know a man is staying with me?”

“I drove past your townhouse yesterday and saw the two of you entering. When I drove past this morning, I noticed his ride still parked along the curb. Tell him I’m a fan of
Smokey and the Bandit
, please.”

“I will.”

“Thank you. Now, about that DVD.” After he gave her the location of the DVD, he said, “I really do like you, and wish that we could have met under different circumstances.”

“Can I ask you something else?”

“Hopefully I have an answer,” he said with a chuckle.

“How does my beauty pageant series fit with what you’re doing in your OR?”
 

He sighed, then said, “You’re an excellent reporter, Eden. I’m sure if you think long and hard about your series and my patients, you’ll begin to connect the dots. If you don’t, no worries. My final DVD will give you all of the answers.”

“I honestly don’t know if I can bear to watch another one of your surgeries.”

“The last DVD won’t be another surgery, Eden. It will be an explanation. I have to go now. It was nice talking to you. Take care of yourself, and watch your back. If I find out who’s been sneaking around your townhouse, I will call you again.”

“Wait. Can I reach you at this number?”

The call ended. Eden quickly redialed the number, but the call rolled right into a computerized voice messaging system.

“Don’t waste your time,” Hudson said. “I guarantee he’s made sure the phone is untraceable.”

Although frustrated, she knew he was right. The man had always been one step ahead of them. He wouldn’t let something as simple as a phone call bring him down before he’d finished what he’d started.

When Hudson pulled her into his arms, she hugged him. Knowing another DVD awaited them disturbed her. She didn’t want to watch another person being tortured. But having a slightly better insight into the man behind the surgical mask unsettled her even more. His hatred and need for vengeance had turned him into a cold-blooded killer, and yet he had been concerned about her health and well being, and had acted as if he…cared about her. He’d also been in love.
 

She’d considered the killer a monster, and hadn’t thought of him as a human being, a man who might have had family and friends. A regular job with a 401k. What had happened to make him hate enough to kill? When he’d asked if she’d known what it was like to hate, eat, sleep, and wake to nothing but thoughts of vengeance, she’d thought about the men who had raped her. There had been a time in her life when she’d thought of nothing else but how she could even the score. To make those assholes suffer. As she’d graduated from college, then dove into her career, she’d realized they weren’t worth the effort. While the nightmares still visited, she’d worried that if she reopened old wounds, they’d never heal, especially if those men ended up walking away from their crime a second time.
 

She gave Hudson another squeeze, then pulled away from him. “We’ve got to go. You heard everything, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, you did a great job with him. I’m sure you had a million questions buzzing through your head, but you zeroed in on things that were important.”

“Thanks,” she said as she stepped into her yoga pants. “We need to leave. Can you let Brutal out before we go? I don’t want to come home to a mess.”

Before he left the bedroom, he stopped, and cupped her cheeks. “You okay?”

She touched his hand. “Yeah.”

“I was looking forward to that omelet.”

Smiling, she turned, then kissed his palm. “Even skinny people can cook. Wait until you try my lasagna.”

He kissed her again, then headed for the door. “I can’t wait.”

She couldn’t either. They’d started something big last night. While she wasn’t sure how their relationship would play out, considering she had plans to move to New York at the end of the month, she was sure of one thing—they needed to find the killer before he made another DVD.
 

*

Pudge sat in front of the bedroom mirror. “Please talk to me.”

No answer.

“I’m sorry about last night, but you know we need Kyle. I had to do it.”

no no you didnt he used us used us used us used us

Relieved the silence had been broken, Pudge smiled. The love they shared was more important than their aspirations. They could create a new name for themselves if necessary, but they couldn’t lose each other. Not after all that they’d been through.
 

The day after Mama had killed that scum of a husband and father, Rick, Pudge had found true love in—of all places—the family bathroom. To this day, Pudge could remember the encounter, the relief to have found someone to share the pain and burden Mama had created.
 

Pudge smiled. With the business end of a sharp hatchet, man oh man the crazy bitch had really given it to dear ol’ Dad. After Pudge had suffered years of Rick’s abuse, the beatings, the rapes, helping Mama dismember him, then scatter his corpse throughout Illinois had been disgusting, and yet disturbingly satisfying. The meeting in the bathroom afterward had come at a time when Pudge had needed a friend, someone to help cope with the murder, and deal with Mama. That friendship had blossomed into love quickly, leaving Pudge confident and ready to leave the cesspool Mama called home, and venture off into the world of fame and fortune.

Pudge needed to make things right between them. Without their love and friendship, Pudge had no interest in fame and fortune. Success wouldn’t be as fun without the partner Pudge had come to love more than life.
     

“I know he’s using us. But we’re using him, too. Don’t worry. I have an idea of how we can get even with Kyle. Don’t even think of bringing up killing him. What I have in mind for him…put it this way, he’ll wish he were dead.”

promise promise me

“I promise. Now, speaking of promises, I remember promising you that Eden would be dead by the end of the week, and it’s already Friday.”

 
yes yes kill her kill her

“On the way home last night, I went past her house and noticed the boy toy’s car out front. If he’s spending the night with her, we’re going to have to come up with a way to catch her off guard during the day. We don’t have to work, so I thought maybe we could play dress up and follow Eden around today.”

Pudge reached into the closet and pulled out an unused disguise bought weeks ago. “Remember this?”

yes yes clever clever

“I know. Who would suspect a pregnant woman?” Pudge strapped on the faux belly, then chuckled. “Wouldn’t I make a great mom?”

mama mama

“Don’t call me that. It’s not even funny. I would never be like that bitch.”

no no mama yelling mama yelling

Pudge stopped and listened. “Damn it.”

As they entered the living room, Mama began rattling off her breakfast order. Pudge went into the kitchen, retrieved a frying pan, then set it on the stove. Pudge was about to grab the eggs from the fridge, when the phone rang. Pudge glanced at the caller ID, then quickly answered.

Minutes later, Pudge hung up the phone. “That stupid bitch,” Pudge whispered. Apparently, Mama had called the home nurse agency last night and requested a visit from Nurse Gretchen. The agency had called to inform them that Gretchen would no longer be available, but they had a replacement they could send by today. Of course they’d never said why Nurse Gretchen had been out of commission. They didn’t have to.