Cynthia Eden - Deadly Fear

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright 2010 by Cindy Roussos

Excerpt from Deadly Heat copyright 2010 by Cindy Roussos

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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First eBook Edition: August 2010

ISBN: 978-0-446-58392-3

You should go get dressed, she told him, her voice dropping and getting that husky little edge that hed never been ableto forget.

The edge that told him that she needed. Wanted. Lusted.

Just like he did.

The rain had made her shirt all but transparent. They were wet. Close.

Just as hungry for each other as theyd always been.

You were right about me. Us. I didnt want to remember, but Her voice, so soft, froze him. He had to strain to make outthe words.

Remember what? Because hed never had a problem remembering what it was like to be with her. To touch her and taste herand see the pleasure wash over her face.

No, that hadnt been a problem. Forgetting, though, had been pure hell

Danger and excitement leap off every page.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)
on Eternal Hunter

It hooked me from the first page A fast-paced, sexy thrill ride you wont want to miss.

C HRISTINE F EEHAN , New York Times bestselling author, on Eternal Hunter

Edens latest brims with passion All but vibrates with sexual energy.

Publishers Weekly on Midnight Sins

[A] fast-paced story keeps readers racing through the pages.

RT Book Reviews on Midnight Sins

Hot.

J ACQUELYN F RANK , New York Times bestselling author, on Hotter After Midnight

Highly sensual and definitely dangerous.

S HANNON M C K ENNA on Hotter After Midnight

This book starts out sizzling and erupts in flames page after page.

Affaire de Coeur on Hotter After Midnight

A special thanks to Alexmy fantastic editor.
Thanks for your insight!

For Dr. Laura thanks for leading me
into the minds of monsters.

For Joan Yes, you were right.
You were right, and youre an awesome friend.

For Saundra Another fabulous friend.
Youre always an inspiration to me.

And, for my mom I love you.

I s the girl still alive? The question came from Special Agent Jonas McKall.

The guy had been with the unit for just over two years, tracking killers for a hell of a lot longerand the man really shouldhave known better.

Keith Hyde grunted and reached for his weapon. Its day four. You know the perps MO. Two days of fun and games. Sick, twisted fuck.

Would the girl still be alive? Doubtful. Five other bodies had already been found. Young girls, in their teens, slaughtered.

Katherine Daniels had disappeared from her bus stop on Monday. Theyd finally tracked the killer to his hole today, but theknot in Hydes gut told him they were too late.

Always too late.

Go in slow, he ordered, aware of the sweat trickling down his back. His team was trained for this shit, but he gave thewarning anyway. The guy inside that cabinhe was smart. Hed had the cops and the Bureau chasing shadows for the last year.

While he sliced his girls apart.

If Katherines alive, we cant take the chance of spooking him. Or of giving him the opportunity to finish her off.

The three agents around him gave quick nods.

Sir, but what about Quiet, nasally, the voice grated in Hydes ears.

But he halted and turned to face the profiler.

What about Mary Jane Hill?

The third girl whod gone missing.

The profilers gaze darted to the wooden cabin. Her body wasnt found.

Hydes back teeth locked. Because the bastard dumped her in the woods, and the animals got to her first. Theyd found theother bodies, ravaged and torn, just before the beasts had.

But not Mary Jane.

Hyde figured theyd never find that poor girl.

But what if

Shes been gone for over three months, Brown. Shes dead. The freak never broke his two-day rule.

The profiler should know that.

But, Brown, with his perfectly pressed suit and too-thick glasses, was a replacement. Hed signed on with the team just daysbefore theyd gotten one lucky-ass lead.

The last profiler, Jasper Peters, had bailed on the case. Jasper had come to him with red cheeks and shaking hands. I cant do this shit anymore. Cant stop the monsterstheyll never be stopped.

Just stay back, Hyde growled. Crickets chirped in the distance and a faint light glowed from within the cabin. Stay back.

He lifted his hand. Motioned to the team.

And prepared to enter Hell.

Hyde picked the lock on the doorsnuck in as softly as a whisper. As soon as he stepped inside, the stench slapped him inthe face. Blood and decay. Rancid and thick in the air.

The girl wouldnt be found alive.

He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and held his weapon steady. Somewhere in this pit, the killer hid.

Theyd mapped the area. Even managed to find the builder whod erected the cabin over twenty years before. There was a basement.A small, perfect-for-killing room down below.

That was where the man whod been dubbed Romeo waited.

Hydes heart slammed against his chest when he saw the metal door. Thick, with a padlock dangling loosely from a chain.

Keeps them locked in when hes gone. No way to escape.

But the lock was open now because the bastard was having his playtime below.

No more.

Hyde reached for the door, yanked back the handle.

The hard squeak of the metal grated in his ears like a scream.

Fuck.

Hyde flew through the doorway.

Still alive?

Doubtful. But maybe, maybe

His boots pounded down the steps. Lights flickered overhead. Fluorescent bulbs that revealed, then concealed.

He tripped on the last step, but caught himself and shouted, FBI! You need to

Laughter. Rich and dark. Shadows moved, and a man stepped forward. Young, in his mid-twenties, good-looking.

The profiler had been right about that.

He doesnt force them to come with him. He seduces them. Offers them a temptation they cant resist.

Romeo, tempting the girls to walk on the wild side.

Put your hands up, asshole! Let me see em! The other agents pounded down the stairs, then fanned the room.

Romeo just smiled, flashing a dimple. His hands were behind his back. A long white apron, stained red, covered his chest andlegs. Too late, he whispered.