Sophie Oak: Lost in Bliss

God, she was at Cassidy’s. She remembered looking at that light fixture the last time she’d had dinner out here. Laura had been helping Cassidy and Nell on a project, and that was when she’d met Wolf. She remembered how she’d looked the gorgeous man over and all she’d been able to think about were Cam’s shoulders and Rafe’s dark eyes.

Where were they? Did they even know she was gone?

“Ah, you’re awake. I had to use the Taser a couple of times, dear.

I hope it doesn’t have any lingering effects. I wouldn’t want to desensitize you.” Joe came into view. “You know who I am now?” A monster. “Yes. You’re the man who calls himself the Marquis de Sade.”

He chuckled lightly. “He was an amateur, a fop who played at dealing pain. I am more than that. Still, he had a lot of interesting things to say. Did you get my present? Or did those idiot cops keep it from you? It was addressed to you.”

Jana’s body. God, had she ever known this man at all? “I got your message even if I didn’t see the actual package.” He pulled latex gloves over his hands. “But I did it for you, little rabbit. I cut out her heart. It was a little messier than I like to get, but I thought you should see that she actually had one. And I took it apart for you. You really are the only one who understands me.” Her first instinct was to scream her lungs out. Her second was to fight with all her might, but another thought skittered across her brain.

Time . She needed time.

“But I don’t,” she forced herself to say in a calm, even voice. “I think I understand parts, but not the whole.” He stopped and looked down at her, brown eyes narrowing.

“Well, no one can comprehend all of me, but you came the closest. It was why I had to shut you down. You aren’t my usual prey. Not because I find women like you more worthy of life. I don’t. You’re all the same underneath. It’s just better to prey on the weak, the unwanted. I was making a statement. It was far more important that I remain unfettered to continue to speak.” By speaking, he meant killing. “Why did you stop after me?” He sighed and turned briefly, coming back with a small tray. “It was a close thing with you. Do you know why I left you, darling? It was rude of me, I know. I’ve always wanted to explain why I had to leave you there so very unfinished.”

His words sickened her, as did the almost affectionate way he spoke. He didn’t sound anything like the Joseph Stone she knew. Still, if he was talking, he wasn’t stabbing her, and she needed to avoid that. They would come. This time they would come for her. “I did wonder why you left so suddenly.”

“Well, my two worlds collided,” he explained. “I had been so careful to keep them apart, but you forced my hand. I thought I was the smartest guy in the world when I was able to fire you for talking to the very reporter I had set up as my mouthpiece. Do you remember? You introduced me to her at the Christmas party years and years ago. It was when you were working in another department, but you would butter me up because you knew you wanted to be in the BAU.”

“Yes,” she replied. He was talking. If he wanted to stroll down memory lane recounting all the ways he was smarter than the rest, she would go with him. “I brought Jana with me because she was more outgoing than me.”

“She was a whore, dear. She hit on every man in the place. But I digress. I was able to fire you for talking about a case to the press. I thought no one would miss you for a night or two. I didn’t realize that you had made…friends with both Kincaid and Briggs. They went looking for you. When they couldn’t find you, they made a stink. I was called away to start investigating your disappearance. By the time I was able to get away from work, you had already made it out of our little hideaway.”

A little sob threatened to escape. She’d always wondered why he’d left so abruptly. Cam and Rafe. They had saved her then, too.

They hadn’t known it, but their need to find her had saved her life.

She would live through this. She would do it because she loved them. She didn’t need survival instincts this time. She had them.

“I think you’ll find the ropes are properly tied this time. The last time, I was a bit too eager,” Joe said, testing them again. He pulled at the ropes he’d tied. Laura noticed there was a sheet underneath her covered by a layer of plastic. It was like last time. He’d be able to easily destroy the evidence without leaving pesky blood or fibers behind. She wondered if his baldness was real or if he routinely shaved his head. Hairs left behind at a crime scene had gotten more than one killer caught. “Like I said, you were outside my normal prey, but so much closer to what I truly hunger for.” She shivered. “What do you hunger for, Joe?” He smiled. “I like hearing my name for once. I like hearing it coming from you. We’re close, you and I. To answer your question, I want someone soft and real. Those whores are close to death anyway.

Most of them thank me when I finally put them out of their misery.

Not you. You fought like you had something to live for. It made the game so much sweeter.”

“I’ll fight this time, too.” She would. And if he believed the experience would be good, maybe he would prolong it. She would survive. She would live through anything if it meant getting back to her men.

He ran a gloved hand along her torso, obviously admiring the scars he’d placed there. “I read you lost your womb, dear.” Temper. She had to watch it. She wanted to spit on him. “The surgery to repair my intestines and uterus didn’t go well. I bled out, and they performed a hysterectomy. I was lucky to live.” And she could see that now. She’d been lucky. She’d lost something precious, but she hadn’t lost her life. Rafe was right. They could have a family if they wanted one. They could adopt. Their lifestyle would be a challenge, but she knew people who could cut through red tape. Stef Talbot had offered his help in the past, and she’d turned him down because she didn’t want to be a charity case. It wasn’t charity, she realized suddenly. It was love. It was caring. It was family.

“You’re getting emotional, dear.”

Laura felt the tears running down her face. She felt his hands on her body. It felt like the ultimate violation. She preferred his violence to this slow, torturous petting. “How are you going to get out of this, Joe? Rafe and Cam know the Marquis de Sade is someone in the FBI.”

He chuckled and reached down. At least his hands were off of her.

When he came back, there was a small brush in his hand. It was pearl handled and had old-fashioned bristles. Laura felt every muscle in her body tense. She remembered what he could do with that feminine looking brush. He’d beaten her with something very similar. In between “sessions,” he had used it to brush her hair.

“You’ve made it impossible for me to continue, but I think you’ve freed me in some ways, too.” He reached over and started caressing her hair with the brush. His motions were languid as though he deeply enjoyed this part of his ritual. “My time with the FBI is done. I have a car waiting for me. I’ll make it to Mexico and on to some friends in South America. I have an appointment with a plastic surgeon. Thanks to my dearly departed wife, I have quite a bit saved up. She had a trust fund, you know.”

Just how long had Joe been killing? She’d written in her profile that there had to have been an inciting incident that started the killer on his path. “Your wife cheated on you.” Joe started. He stepped back, pulling the brush from her hair.

“Yes. I gave the bitch everything, and she preferred the gardener. She even got herself pregnant.”