Scream for Me by Cynthia Eden Page B

finished. She was only saying what they all thought.
    James nodded. “But I don’t know if we can get to them. Those explosions made the place even more unstable. Even when wewere in the first chamber room, rocks were falling on us. I don’t know if I can risk men to find…”
    Dead bodies.
    It was exactly what the killer was counting on. He’d hidden all the evidence, destroyed it, and made the place so dangerous that others would hesitate to enter his domain.
    “We’ll start fresh tomorrow.” James rolled back his shoulders. His gaze darted from Kyle to Cadence. “You two did it. You saved Lily Adams. We can count this damn case in the win column.”
    They hadn’t been too late this time.
    “Now, you both look like shit, so go back to your hotel. Get some sleep.”
    Sleep was the last thing on Kyle’s mind. Adrenaline had his blood pumping, his whole body feeling jacked up with electric current. “He’s still out there.” The case didn’t count as a win for him until the killer was stopped.
    Dead.
    “We’ll find him.” James seemed certain. “But you two aren’t gonna be any good to me until you get some rest.”
    Cadence’s gaze flickered to Kyle. Unlike her, he hadn’t cleaned up yet. Blood and grime covered him. Kyle figured the captain’s assessment of looking “like shit” had to be pretty accurate for him.
    “You saved the girl.” James’s eyes were on Kyle, piercing in their intensity. “This time, it ended differently.”
    Kyle nodded.
    “Get your rest. You deserve it. Those caves will be there tomorrow.”
    Would the killer? Or when he realized that Lily was gone, would the SOB try to vanish in the wind?
    Doesn’t matter if you run, I will find you .
    He wouldn’t give up. Not until he stopped the bastard.
    The captain hurried away from them.
    Kyle stared into Cadence’s eyes. “There were thirteen marks.”
    She gave a small nod and reached for her phone. A few seconds later, Cadence said, “Dani? Dani, how’s that search coming? Because I need those results, now .” A pause. “Based on what we found in those caves, we think there might be a lot more women missing than we first suspected.”
    Not just missing. Dead?
    He remembered the flash of white in the darkness. The human bone. The tattered dress.
    Please . The desperate thought, the prayer, slipped from him. Don’t be Maria . Because he’d clung so long to that one hope—the hope that he’d find his sister alive.
    And not that he’d stumble over her bones in the middle of hell.

    “Agents!”
    The check-in clerk rushed from the motel as soon as he saw Cadence and Kyle arrive. The kid’s wide-eyed stare flew over them, lingering a bit on the blood covering Kyle’s shirt.
    Yeah, it’s blood. Deal with it .
    “I heard on the news about what you did.” The kid shook his head. Looked like he was staring at movie stars. “You saved Ms. Adams!”
    Word traveled fast in small towns. Especially when that word was constantly being pumped through the local news.
    “Here.” The kid thrust two room keys at them. “I saved the two rooms for you, just like you asked, Ms. Hollow. Right next to each other.”
    Kyle frowned. He didn’t want two rooms. One was all he needed that night.
    He’d made Cadence a promise.
    He wasn’t backing out.
    We’re out of the darkness, Cadence. You’re mine .
    He’d warned her.
    “If there’s anything you need”—the kid’s voice shook with eagerness and excitement—“you call me. Anything . Anytime.”
    “Thank you,” Cadence murmured. “We’ll keep that in mind.”
    They passed the boy.
    “What was it like?” he called after them in the high-pitched, breaking voice that showed both his excitement and nervousness. “In the cave?”
    “Dark,” Kyle threw over his shoulder. “It was damn dark.” They climbed the stairs, leaving the desk clerk behind.
    Two rooms. Two keys.
    Cadence had them both.
    At the top of the stairs, she paused. “Looks like the second room is