Deadly Obsession by Katie Reus

had nothing to lose. The lily symbolizes fertility and purity but it’s also a symbol of death. I was up all night and when I put ‘lily death symbol’ in the search engine, I found this,” she held out the piece of paper still clasped tightly in her hand, “on a tattoo website.”
    Lilly’s gaze strayed back to the photos. A familiar numbness spread throughout her arms and legs like hot lava. The carvings were frighteningly similar to her tattoo. Without the colored ink it would be difficult to discern what the symbol was, but compared with the print out, it was obvious. It could be random that her tattoo was carved into the victims’ backs, but she didn’t believe in that much coincidence. “What does this mean?” Lilly rasped out.
    “I have no idea, but I think you’re somehow involved. Starting now, you’re officially under protective custody.” Braden’s deep voice echoed in the small room. “You’re not going anywhere without my protection.”
    “Okay.” Under normal circumstances, she’d probably argue with him, but considering she was conjuring up images of a masked man, she kept her mouth shut. She might be a trained agent but she had too many demons to deal with on her own. “Do you know if any of the women were taunted or harassed by this guy before he killed them? Did any of them file police reports before their death?”
    Eyeing her curiously, he shook his head. “No. Why?”
    She contemplated mentioning the masked figure she’d seen but knew it had to be part of her PTSD. Any sane woman would report being stalked by someone so if the others hadn’t been, it wouldn’t make sense for this guy to change pattern with her. And there was no way she was admitting her hallucinations to Braden. “Just trying to cover all bases.”
    Another batch of photos caught her gaze. Bile rose in her throat as she picked up one of the enlarged prints. “ This is what he does to them?”
    Lilly looked between Braden and Hailey. They both nodded silently. As if pulled by a magnet, her gaze was drawn back to the picture of a woman who had no doubt been very pretty before her death. Cuts covered her chest, stomach and legs and burn marks covered her back and legs. And there was a cluster of burn marks between her thighs.
    “We still don’t know what he’s using to inflict those burn marks,” Braden murmured.
    Placing the picture back on the desk, she looked at Braden. “It’s not a Taser?”
    He shook his head. “The prongs are too far apart and we haven’t been able to match it to anything on the market.”
    Frowning, she glanced back at the pictures and it registered that she’d seen those markings before. “Have you checked it against farm equipment, like a cattle prod or something?”
    “No, but I will,” Hailey said.
    Lilly turned from the disturbing photos and met Braden’s dark gaze. Dozens of questions raced through her mind but the only thing that mattered was getting away from those photographs. Her stomach pitched and she was afraid she’d be sick if she didn’t get out of the room. In the last year she’d seen some of the most horrid things a human should have to, but it didn’t mean she’d gotten used to any of it.
    Braden immediately took her arm in a gentle grasp. “Come on. I’ll fill you in on the way to breakfast.”
    With a mute nod, she mumbled a goodbye to Hailey. Once they were in Braden’s truck, Lilly’s racing heart had calmed a little, but a heavy ball congealed in her stomach.
    “You okay?” Braden asked.
    She shook her head and strapped in. “This is insane.”
    “Tell me about it,” he muttered. “You still feel like getting breakfast?”
    Despite the horrors she’d seen around the world, this was too personal. She didn’t want to eat and she didn’t want to think about any of this. At least not this instant. Over the past year she’d learned to compartmentalize everything so she’d just do it now. “Can we wait until lunch instead? I don’t think