Figured. The guy was smart enough to cover his tracks.

“He’s jonesing hard for another victim,” Santiago muttered. “In the message, he starts talking about their shared love of antiques, then the asshole cuts to the chase. Says he doesn’t usually do this, but he’d love to meet her for dinner, since they’re both in the same area.”

Slick asshole.

“Says she can meet him at a place called Mancini’s Grill at seven tomorrow night.”

A public meeting. One designed to make the woman feel safe. And she would be safe, until she made the mistake of letting Paul get her alone.

Then there would be no more safety.

“Tell him I’ll be there,” Miranda whispered.

His hold on the phone tightened. “We’ll be there.”

They’d have the place surrounded by cops and Bureau men and women. Roberts wouldn’t escape again.

The bastard had let his bloodlust bring him down, and Miranda had been right; she was, indeed, the perfect bait.

Bait that Roberts would wish he had resisted.

Cain ended the call. Glanced at Miranda. She was clutching the sheets tightly to her breasts, her skin was flushed, and when she shifted, just a bit, he caught sight of the faint mark on her shoulder.

His mark. From their fast and furious lovemaking session in the sheriff’s office.

“Do we need to go back to Cherryville now?”

He wrapped his arms around her. Inhaled and caught her scent. “Soon.” But not that exact moment. He wanted to hold her first.

Stay with her.

Pretend that a devil wasn’t waiting just beyond the door.

“Soon,” he repeated and pressed his lips to hers.

The damn devil could wait a bit longer.

Eight

“You’ll be monitored every moment,” Cain told her the next evening, right before her promised meeting with the vampire. Cain bent and gave her a quick, hard kiss. “Plainclothes deputies and some cops will be in the restaurant. Santiago and Delaney will be watching from the kitchen.”

“And where will you be?” Not too close, or she knew the vampire would catch his scent.

He smiled at her. “Baby, I’ll be watching your every move; don’t doubt it for a minute.”

Her lips curved and she nodded.

“Once you can confirm that the guy waiting is Roberts, then you give the signal.” They’d gone over the signal so many times that she almost rolled her eyes. “There’s a chance this isn’t our guy. We need you to verify ID before we bring hell crashing onto him.”

“Right.” Ah, jeez, but the butterflies in her stomach were doing some kind of wild dance. And her palms were wet. And her heart really, really needed to slow down.

It was almost showtime.

He caught her hands. Brought her fingersto his lips and pressed a hot kiss against her flesh. “It’s going to be over soon.”

Thank God. No more serial-killing vampire on the streets of her town.

“I’ll see you at the restaurant, baby.” His gaze was warm, tender.

And worried.

“See you then,” she repeated and felt her smile melt away. For her protection, two deputies were still stationed outside of her house. And Sam was on his way. He was going to be her tail to the restaurant.

Cain opened the front door. Hesitated with his hand on the knob. “Don’t drop your guard with him.”

“I won’t.” Not that she particularly needed that reminder.

He looked as if he wanted to say more but then he turned away and pushed open the old screen door. He called out a quick greeting to the men stationed near the foot of her steps as he hurried to his car.

Miranda stood in the doorway, her hands gripping the hard wood of the door. This was it. The time they’d been planning for had finally arrived.

She just hoped she could hold everything together.

Cain sped down the drive, disappearing in a faint cloud of dust and the flash of red taillights. After a moment, Miranda nodded to the two men and pushed the door closed.

She’d change. Put on a short black dress, as if she were going to meet a lover. A wig was waiting in her bedroom, the perfect piece needed to make her become Angie Phillips.

If things went according to plan, Roberts would be spending the rest of his night in a jail cell. Then the Feds would take charge of the vampire the next day. Cain had told her that the vampire wouldn’t burn in the daylight, but he would be weak.

The weakness would make him much easier to handle.

Miranda stepped toward the bedroom.

A floorboard squeaked behind her. It was all the warning Miranda got.

She spun around and found Paul smiling at her.

“Guess I won’t be making our date tonight, eh, love?” he whispered and licked his lips. “But neither will you.”

Oh, God.

Miranda screamed as loud as she could, hoping to alert the guards, and then she turned and ran.

He laughed. “Oh, dear, scream all you want. Those poor humans out front can’t help you now.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. He’d set them up.

“It was so easy to slide into your mind,” he snapped, sending the words flying after her. “So damn easy.”

The sadistic bastard had been on to them all along.

Had he killed the deputies? No, please no.

Her heart felt like it would rip from her chest. Paul was running down the hallway behind her now. The heavy thump of his feet hitting the wood echoed in her ears.

She shot to the left, dashing for the kitchen. The back door was close. A few feet away.