Killer Moves by Mary Eason Page A

to distance myself from the case for a while. ‘Let Ryan take the lead,’ he told me. At least to the public eye.” When his eyes met hers, the fear left her. This was Davis. This was the man she loved. But Davis was hurting.
    Kara remembered Ed only too well. She and Ed had butted heads from day one. “Why? I mean, didn’t you tell Ed about your connection to the victims in the beginning?” Then she added slowly, “Is it because of me?”
    He smiled once more mockingly then poured another drink. “You were just the final straw. No, they want me away from the case for the same reason you’re starting to suspect me. Because I might have personal knowledge of the killer.”
    “Because of your relationship with the victims?”
    Davis took another sip of the whiskey before answering. “The first victim, Amanda, I met at the academy. She never finished. She decided it wasn’t for her. Once she left the academy, well, I never saw her again. And Camille, well, it happened years ago, before Rachel and I, and it was one night. I forgot about her until I saw a photo of her. Her name didn’t ring a bell…”
    “Oh, Davis.”
    “Kara, I know how this is beginning to look, but for God’s sake I need you of all people to believe in me. Please.”
    “I do,” she told him and meant it. Kara moved to his side and took the glass from his hand. His fingers shook. “Davis, I do believe in you, but there’s something going on here you can’t deny. Somehow the Angel has decided to make this personal for you. Do you have any idea why? I mean, you and I haven’t spoken in years. It can’t all be because of me.”
    He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “I thought of that after Rachel’s death. I’ve gone over all of my cases with a fine-tooth comb but there’s nothing.”
    The pain in his eyes was hard to face. Slowly, Kara took him in her arms and held him close. “It’s okay. We’ll get through this together. We’ll figure it out together, Davis.
    “You’re not alone in this, okay. But I need you to help me. Ava needs you—you can’t give up.”
    For a long time, he didn’t answer, and then she felt him grow restless in her arms.
    “I’m not giving up, Kara. I want this guy as much as you do. And I won’t let him hurt Ava, I promise.”
    When he looked down at her, all the old feelings resurfaced. Her body ached for him. She responded without hesitation to the open need in his eyes. Kara leaned against him and felt his hands tighten around her waist. Lifting her fingers, she cupped his face. The moment their lips touched, the years melted away. It never felt more right. This was what she’d wanted for so long. Even when she tried hating him, she still craved his touch.
    “I want to make love to you, Kara. Dear God, I’ve thought of making love to you again for so long.”
    Her eyes searched his for a long time. It would be so easy to give in. After all, she wanted the same thing, but too many things stood in the way. And a killer was on the hunt again.
    Slowly, she untangled herself from his arms. His mouth hardened into a frown at her rejection.
    “And then what? What happens when the job needs you or Ed or the next killer comes along?’” The look in his eyes was hard to take.
    “Kara…” Davis Martin had never looked more vulnerable.
    “I’m sorry, Davis, but I think we need to stay focused on the case.”

Chapter Six
     
    Letting Kara go was impossible to do but he did it. In his head, he understood where she was coming from. She’d been hurt. He’d screwed things up terribly and it would take some time for her to trust him again. But his heart and his body weren’t nearly so patient.
    With her absence from his arms, the world and its troubles crowded in again.
    His conversation with Ed Zamora had come as the biggest shock in a week full of them. That his commanding officer, the man he’d worked with for almost ten years, could think he in some way might be involved in these deaths was