Ranger Faith (Texas Ranger Heroes #4) - Lynn Shannon Page 0,3

a personal visit, but a business one. Emilia was a state police officer and behavioral analyst. She aided investigations by studying crime scenes and creating profiles of the killers. Bennett couldn’t imagine what case brought her to his doorstep.

Derrick’s? Couldn’t be. The killer was dead.

Questions circled Bennett’s mind, but he held them in. “There’s no need to worry. My parents are shopping. Sage and Liz will be busy pulling decorations down from the attic. And my brother-in-law”—he waved a hand toward the pastures—“is checking the fence line. We’ll have the kitchen to ourselves.”

He led her inside. The kitchen was large with an island and a plank table comfortable enough to seat twelve. Bennett removed two mugs from the rack hanging on the wall and poured coffee. “Mom doesn’t have caramel creamer, but there is milk.”

“Milk is fine.” Emilia shrugged off her jacket and hung it on the back of a chair. She tilted her head. “You remember I like caramel creamer?”

He opened the fridge. “I’m a ranger, Emilia. It’s my job to notice things.”

That was a half-truth. Bennett’s interest in Emilia had gone beyond his job, and there were lots of things he remembered about her. Emilia drummed her nails while thinking. She was left-handed and couldn’t stand peppers on her pizza. Their friendship never shifted into romance, but Bennett had hoped it might someday. Emilia was the only woman he’d ever met that made him question his commitment to never remarry.

Bennett set the milk on the table, along with a spoon. Then he fished a few cookies out of the jar on the counter and plated them. Emilia stirred her coffee, lost in thought. Her mouth was set in a hard line and her brow crinkled.

Bennett joined her at the table. “What’s going on?”

Emilia tapped her spoon against the mug. She pulled out her cell phone from the pocket of her jacket. “I was working a case near El Paso and arrived home this morning to find a flower delivery on my doorstep.”

She tapped her cell phone screen and then turned it toward Bennett. His chest constricted. A poinsettia plant rested on the welcome mat. Visible above the flowers, attached to a florist stick, was a card with a typewritten message.

The murders begin again, my pet.

The significance of the threat wasn’t lost on Bennett. It was a clear reference to Derrick Jackson. After killing a woman, Derrick left the body in a public park with a poinsettia bloom clutched in the victim’s hands. Emilia had almost been his fourth victim. She’d escaped by diving into a lake, swimming to the other side, and crawling out. Bennett had found her near death, suffering from multiple knife wounds and hypothermia.

Anger swept through him, fast and furious. Whoever had left this on Emilia’s doorstep was aiming to hurt and terrify her. Bennett tapped the cell phone screen to zoom in on the message. “Did you report this to your superiors? It’s not Derrick, obviously, since he’s dead. But investigators should still take it seriously. A criminal out for revenge may have researched your history and is using it to threaten you.”

“I have reported it, but…” She swallowed hard. “I don’t think this is from one of my other cases.”

“Can you explain why?”

Emilia met his gaze and took a deep breath. “Derrick may not have been working alone.”

Dread spread through Emilia like poison. Speaking her worst fears out loud made them real. She wanted to be wrong. Prayed she was. But somewhere deep in her heart, she already knew it was true. Emilia’s hand trembled, and she gripped her coffee mug.

Bennett frowned. “I don’t understand. You identified Derrick as your attacker.”

“He kidnapped me from the parking lot. I know that for sure.” Emilia licked her lips. “But later…in the cabin…”

Maybe it was her imagination, but the scar along her right arm seemed to burn. Emilia’s fingers slipped inside her sleeve and she rubbed the mottled skin. “I was drugged. My memories about that night are hazy. I was certain Derrick was the one who’d cut me and chased me through the woods. After I left the hospital, I started questioning myself. The nagging feeling that I was missing something important wouldn’t leave me.”

Bennett sat back in his chair. His brow crinkled. “Why didn’t you say something to me?”

The question had plagued her the entire drive to the ranch. Why hadn’t she said anything about her suspicions? There was a laundry list of reasons, most due to her own self-doubts.

Emilia rose from the chair