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for anything more than your take on the Mastermind
case.”
     
    “Then
read my notes.” She turned away and slipped over the side of the building, down
the ladder and was gone, leaving Thorne alone on the roof.
     
    But her
presence lingered in the air, in the hum of blood through his body, the buzz
that said she was prettier than he remembered, spunkier than he remembered. But
beneath that buzz was a wariness, a recognition that she’d grown into a
dedicated, driven cop, the kind of cop who’d do anything to protect her
territory, to ensure her job and move her career forward. Just like Tabitha.
     
    Maya
wasn’t his problem. She didn’t want his help or company, and he’d made things
square by pulling her away from the stampeding bison. He could move on from
here, without giving her another thought.
     
    Moments
later, he cursed, climbed down the ladder and set off after her. The bomb
threat and the Mastermind’s previous pattern of going after women in the
Forensics Department suggested she was a target, which made her his problem.
     
    What
better way to find the Mastermind than to stick close to his next victim?
     
     
     
    THE
MASTERMIND WATCHED THE cops disperse to their vehicles and hid a smirk at the
thought that everything was going according to plan. They were stirred up now,
anxious and ready to jump at the smallest shadow.
     
    He would
wait a day, maybe longer, until the anticipation had built to a fever pitch.
Then he would make his next move.
     
    He picked
out the slight figure of a dark-haired woman, identifying her by the aggressive
wiggle of her hips as she walked to her car. The taller, stronger figure of a
man followed at a distance.
     
    “Right on
schedule,” he murmured. He was particularly proud of this facet of his plan.
     
    Though
the ability to manipulate people wasn’t one he’d intentionally cultivated, it
had served him well. With a few minor—and fixable—hiccups, everything was
moving smoothly. The Bear Claw cops were formidable adversaries, but that would
only make his inevitable victory that much sweeter when it came.
     
    Smiling
now, he turned away and headed toward his vehicle. He had a few matters to
attend to, new preparations for the next stage of events.
     
    Then he
had a phone call to make.
     
    Chapter
Four
    Maya
wasn’t surprised that Thorne snagged a cruiser and followed her to the BCCPD
rather than staying at the ranch with the evidence techs. What surprised her
was how quickly she noticed, and how thoroughly he’d invaded her thoughts.
     
    As she
drove through the early afternoon Bear Claw traffic, her back ached with hoof
print–shaped sore spots and her legs shook with reaction to the stampede.
Frustrated impotence pounded through her at the knowledge that the Mastermind
was back on the attack and she was off the force.
     
    But those
emotions were layered beneath baffled confusion and brown-tinted memories. She
hadn’t expected to see Thorne Coleridge ever again. She hadn’t kept tabs on
him, hadn’t wanted to know where he was or what he was doing.
     
    She’d
wanted to forget everything about him, everything about that night. Hell, she’d
transferred right out of the High Top Bluff Academy to avoid dealing with what
had happened.
     
    It had
been the smartest move she’d ever made, because she’d transferred into the
Boulder Academy, where she’d met Cassie and Alissa. But end results aside,
she’d been running and she damn well knew it. Running from herself, not him.
But now that he was back in her life, she would have to deal with—
     
    “Nothing,”
she said aloud as she pulled into the PD parking lot and felt a spurt of dismay
to see an unfamiliar car in her usual parking spot, emphasizing that this
wasn’t her territory anymore. She swallowed and gave herself a pep talk. “You
don’t have to see him, don’t have to talk to him, don’t have to do anything
with him. He’s got your notes and you’re off the case. It’s not