The Risk (Mindf*ck Series #1)

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

—Albert Einstein

Dinner? Perfect. Lobster? Loved it. Wine? Amazing. Logan? Too good for me.

I lied to him. Then I lied to recover from my lie because I couldn’t tell him I was wearing my latest two victims’ blood in my hair. The guilt he had on his face made me hate myself.

He apologized.

I realized in that moment how wrong this all is.

Logan is incredible. He’s everything I never even hoped to dream about, because someone so good couldn’t exist.

Yet he’s here.

Well, not at this exact moment. He’s currently at his house getting more clothes. He’s taking a few days off, since their cases have gone cold. Which means they haven’t found my latest bodies yet. Or it could mean that he’s not on that case…

Yesterday was a damn close call. Ten minutes earlier and he’d have found me covered in blood as I tossed all my clothes into the burn pile behind my house. I burned those clothes as soon as he left earlier. My floors are so dark that he didn’t notice the drips of blood on them. I could have lied my way out of that too, but I couldn’t have lied my way around my murder shoes or murder bag.

Fortunately all that was upstairs.

I’ll never let my phone die again. He tried calling me numerous times, but I was finally at the end game with Tyler and Lawrence, and didn’t pause to put my phone on the charger.

The smart thing to do would have been to charge it on my way home, but it was tucked inside my murder bag…that I threw into the closet…and couldn’t find until it finally dawned on me.

Jake spent forever puking in a bucket inside his car during the really gory stuff. It’s not like he could risk puking inside the cellar and leaving behind all that yummy DNA.

Being a monster doesn’t agree with his stomach.

As I sift through the next file on my next victim, looking through the notes of his life, my phone rings. I answer immediately when I see it’s Jake.

“You find him?”

“His name is Gerald Plemmons, at least according to the news. The manhunt is still coming up short. And by the way…Boogeyman? Really?”

I snort out a laugh.

“I hope they come up with something cleverer for you.”

I shudder just thinking about the names they may don me with. Then Logan will only know me by that name if he ever discovers the truth.

He’ll hate the woman he cares for because he’ll see the monster lurking within.

“Have you found him, though? I already knew his name” I go on, refusing to go down that road just yet.

“He’s in DC.”

My heart thumps in my chest.

“You’re sure?”

“Dropped a body a few minutes ago,” he answers. “He’s off grid as far as any paper trails go. However, he made one hell of a statement announcing his current whereabouts. This time, instead of finding the body in an apartment, he hung her out a window for all to see. And instead of it being a low profile girl, he killed a judge’s wife. Raped her brutally, and there was a lot of overkill.”

“Normally overkill means rage,” I say quietly, trying to process it all.

“I think the overkill was more of a statement than rage. I think he wanted to make a fuck-you statement to the FBI. You’re right about him enjoying the attention. He’s going to want more of it, since he’s becoming an exhibitionist.”

“And he’s going to go after Logan.”

“Yes and no.”

“What does that mean?” I ask, moving toward the back of my kitchen to look out the window, paranoid that I’ve just heard a car.

“There’s more. The body he hung out the window was naked. She also had Boogeyman carved into her chest. And one other name…Logan Bennett.”

My chest tries to collapse, and I sink to my chair. I knew he’d do this. I knew he’d target Logan.

“They’re sure it’s him? Not a copycat?”

“Some of the things not released to the public have been verified. This time he even left his DNA behind just to let them know for sure it was him, and now he’s laying claim to his work.”

“And now he’s targeting Logan. We have to find him before he can.”

“That’s the part I’m getting to. He’ll go after your agent, but he’ll use a proxy to do it. He’ll want to taunt and torment Logan. A few more bodies will drop with that calling card before he makes his big move. What would a sexual sadist go after to really hurt a man?”

It takes me a second to catch up to his train of thought, but when I do, a dark smile plays with my lips.

“His girlfriend.”

“Exactly. You sure you can handle a guy like this? He’s not like the guys you’ve been going after, Lana. This guy is the real deal with zero mercy. If he—”

“The guys I kill weren’t angels—aren’t angels, Jake. You know that. They’d kill me if they knew I was still alive, or if they got half a chance when I’m there for them. And yeah. I can handle the Boogeyman. Even a monster has nightmares. I’ll be his.”

He exhales heavily, weighing the gravity of the situation.

“His MO is breaking into a home. He immediately attacks the woman, using brute force to establish dominance. He’ll hit them, then he chokes them until they’re on the verge of passing out.”

“I’m aware,” I tell him.

“He blindsides them, Lana. Your guard will need to be up at all times.”

“I want him to get a couple of hits in,” I say as I pour some fruits into my juicer. “Gotta make it believable.”

“This is too fucking risky. I think I should probably set up surveillance on your house.”

“No. Don’t you dare. If anyone ever tapped into that—”

“Right. Fuck! Then let me come stay with you?”

“And how would I explain you if Logan shows up unexpectedly again? You know what’s eventually coming, right? There’s a reason you’ve been riding in a wheelchair for three years—riding it in and out of your home and in your town.”

He groans, and I turn on the juicer, peering out my window again. As if Logan hears me talking about him, a text comes through as Jake speaks.

“Right. Then I’ll come up with something else.”

LOGAN: Boogeyman problem. I’ll call later.

ME: Okay. Please be careful.

LOGAN: Always, pretty girl.

“Are you texting while I’m on the phone?” Jake asks, annoyed.

“Maybe a little.”

I look out the window again, and this time I catch sight of a car and a flicker of red before I lose sight of whoever is here.

“Gotta go,” I whisper to Jake, hanging up before he can say anything.

I cut my phone off and toss it to the counter before pulling out one of my guns, clicking the safety off as I slowly make my way to the door.

Someone knocks, and I blow out a breath. I doubt the Boogeyman would politely knock before barging in to slit my throat.

I check the peephole, confused when I see a pretty redhead on my steps. Tossing on a pair of jeans that I grab from the back of my couch, I check the mirror. Then I tuck the gun into the back of my jeans and open the door, leaning against it to impede any thoughts of her coming in.

“If you’re here to witness, then you have your work cut out for you. If you’re here to sell me something, go ahead and leave. I shop online. If you’re here to—”

“I’m Hadley Grace,” she says, interrupting me. Her name sounds vaguely familiar, though I’m not sure why.

“Okay.” I shrug, letting her know that name holds no importance.

“Logan Bennett is my boss.”

That’s…surprising. “Shouldn’t you be in DC? Heard the Boogeyman dropped another body.”

Her eyes light up in surprise, and she jerks her phone out from her pocket, cursing when she reads something.

“I’ll make this quick,” she tells me, holding up a file.

She thrusts it at me, and my blood pumps quickly through my veins as I flip it open to see my worst fears starting to come to life.

“Actually, you make this quick,” she says flatly. “Tell me why the hell you stole the identity of a dead girl.”