The Naturals, #2
Killer Instinct
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
Chapter 5
Overview
Unable to sleep, Cassie relives trauma tied to Locke and her mother, fixating on the “Rose Red” lipstick. To regain control, she profiles Veronica Sterling, deducing Sterling’s past with Briggs and early connection to Dean, making her oversight personal. Sloane intervenes with light distraction, grounding Cassie.
Summary
Cassie lies awake, afraid of the nightmares that blend her mother’s disappearance with Locke’s murders and the moment Locke offered her a knife. She grips the “Rose Red” lipstick—Locke’s twisted gift and her mother’s favorite shade—unable to discard this painful reminder of betrayal and loss.
Seeking distance from the memories, Cassie turns to profiling Veronica Sterling. She notes Sterling’s pristine appearance and clear nail polish as deliberate armor—signals of restraint, control, and distance—and wonders what past drove Sterling to allow no weaknesses.
Following the clues, Cassie links Sterling to Dean years earlier, concluding Sterling likely worked with Briggs on the case against Dean’s serial-killer father. Cassie retraces how Briggs then formalized the Naturals program, bringing in Lia, Sloane, Michael, and finally Cassie, with Judd as guardian.
From this, Cassie infers Sterling once partnered with Briggs, disliked being replaced by Locke, and cares about Dean, making her current evaluation of the program personal and potentially adversarial. The insight heightens Cassie’s wariness of Sterling’s motives and methods.
Noticing Cassie’s distress, Sloane breaks the spiral with rapid-fire wombat facts over late-night coffee. Cassie invites more trivia, letting Sloane’s chatter soothe her until the tension eases.
Who Appears
- CassieSleepless and haunted by Locke and her mother; fixates on a lipstick; profiles Sterling’s motives.
- SloaneRoommate who senses Cassie’s distress and distracts her with comforting trivia and coffee.
- Veronica SterlingNew supervisor profiled by Cassie; inferred past with Briggs and early connection to Dean.
- Agent Locke (Lacey Hobbes)Former mentor-turned-killer; her gift of lipstick triggers Cassie’s trauma and self-doubt.
- Agent BriggsFounder of the Naturals program; likely past colleague of Sterling in Cassie’s deductions.
- DeanMember of the Naturals; Cassie infers Sterling knew him since his father’s takedown.
- LiaLie-detecting Natural mentioned in Cassie’s recap of the program’s formation.
- MichaelEmotion-reader referenced as part of the Naturals team history.
- JuddGuardian for the Naturals’ house, noted in Cassie’s recollection of the program.
- Lorelai HobbesCassie’s mother; presumed murder victim whose memory fuels Cassie’s insomnia.