His expression was detached. He was not mad at her. She had not cheated on her husband. But he was going to kill her anyway because of Julie, all because of Julie. Once more he raised the gun as if to strike her and she cringed. It was impossible to think what was going to happen next.

“Don’t move,” he warned.

She wanted to disobey but could not. Fear had turned her nervous system to jelly. It was only then that she realized how far she was from being hero material. Sick at her inability to resist, she watched as he removed a thin rope from a nearby drawer and began to tie her limbs to the four bedposts. He did not have his handcuffs and he did not need them. In a past life he must have been a Boy Scout. He effortlessly knotted her feet together and drew her arms spread-eagle above her head. He was not interested in rape. He wanted to hurry and finish her so that he could get to Michael Grander’s place and catch them in the act. She tried not to imagine how she would look when the three of them returned to his apartment.

When he had her securely tied, he removed her gun from his belt and set it on the table beside the bed. The taunt was deliberate. The Glock was only two feet from her right hand. Taking a step back, he pointed his own gun at her chest. She thought he had changed his mind, that he was going to shoot her and be done with it. But then he set his weapon on top of a chest of drawers. He crouched low and opened a drawer and dug around in the back. When he stood, he had a silver vial in hand. One pint—give or take an ounce of pure hell. She’d never gotten a chance to ask where he got the stuff. Probably he had a chemistry buddy on campus who whipped it up in exchange for rare videos.

Banks put on black gloves and removed the lid from the vial and returned to the side of the bed. He clearly wanted to get it over with, but he stopped to study her. There was nothing in his expression. He could have been daydreaming.

“Would you like a glass of milk?” he asked.

How wide her eyes must have been right then.