Crucified Read Online Free PDF

at the sight unfolding before him. Every drawer, every
cupboard’s contents lay strewn across his house. They’d even taken
the covers off the cushions on the couch. Anger gurgled in the pit
of his stomach and he clenched the hands hanging at his sides.
    “ Bastards.”
    ****
    Dianne thrummed
her fingers on the worn Formica tabletop. The waitress stopped
asking if she wanted to order food long ago. She refilled her
coffee cup at regular intervals, offering her a sympathetic smile
each time.
    What’s taking
them so long?
    Seth accepted
her excuse for not accompanying the team this morning. If she
didn’t stop acting so strange, he’d end up carting her off to the
hospital for a checkup. Who could blame him? She hardly recognized
herself lately. Last night had been a wake up call of sorts.
    What was I
thinking?
    She knew better
than to stake out a suspect without backup. If the higher-ups knew
what she did, she’d probably be on indefinite leave.
    Seth pulled up
out front of the diner, as he got out of the car his blank
expression told her nothing of what went down. Her heart jumped to
her throat and she swallowed hard. Taylor wasn’t in the back of
either cruiser. She let out a long breath and tucked her hair
behind her ear. The bell above the door tinkled and her partner
crossed the distance between them, seemingly in slow motion.
    “ Well?” asked Dianne before he had the chance to sit
down.
    He raised his
hands, and shrugged. “Nothing. Zilch. Nada.” He sat down and rubbed
his face in his hands. “We wasted an entire morning, and came up
empty-handed. Looks like we’re back to square one.”
    Sleep
deprivation was taking its toll on her partner. Dark circles under
his eyes, and he hadn’t shaved in days. Maybe she wasn’t the only
one having an identity crisis.
    “ Well, look at it this way, Seth.” She covered his hands and
squeezed. “You can cross Taylor Danson off the list of possible
suspects. Why don’t you go next door and grab a shower. You look
like hell.”
    “ Gee, thanks a lot.” He smirked, rubbing the stubble on his
chin. “I can’t leave you to man the ship when you’re not feeling
well.” He held up an empty coffee cup to the waitress.
    “ I’m fine, Seth. I just needed to get some food in me. I guess
I kind of forgot to eat yesterday with everything going on around
here.”
    He planted his
hands on the edge of the table, and pushed himself upright. He
motioned to the waitress who stopped next to him with a coffee pot
in her hand. “Sorry, change of plans.” He stifled a yawn.
    “ No problem.” The efficient waitress topped off her coffee
without asking and plopped a handful of creamers down on the
table.
    “ Thanks.”
    “ Okay, I’m going to take you up on your offer, but I’m only
going to take a power nap.” He yawned. “You got to promise to wake
me up in two hours.” He held up two fingers. “No more than
that.”
    “ I promise.” Dianne smiled. “I’m going to pay Preacher Adams a
visit. Maybe if we put our heads together, we can figure out who
this guy is.”
    “ I hope you do.” Seth walked to the door and stopped before
opening it. He gave her a curt nod before he left.
    She watched Seth through the window as he jogged over to the
car to check if the doors were locked before strolling over to the
bed and breakfast. I really lucked out
when I got him as a partner. He always
seemed genuinely concerned about her, and never once made her feel
inferior because of her gender .
    The corners of her mouth twitched, elation rose up from her
belly. They didn’t find
anything.
    Her first instincts were right about the Taylor. He wasn’t
your typical biker. Her hand flew to her mouth to try and stifle
the sharp intake of breath. A vision of Taylor on top of her
yielding a baseball bat squashed her elation. I’ll be lucky if the guy ever speaks to me
again . Sadly enough, she didn’t blame him
one bit.
    Her emotions began to spiral out of control. Get a hold of