Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
It rolls down before I can make contact, and instantly I’m swarmed with disappointment at the sight of the man sitting behind the wheel.
“Can I help you?” I ask the man I know to be Bishop.
I’ve memorized almost all of the people in the club and those connected to it during my investigation of Sawyer Maddox.
“I’m not here to cause you any trouble or undue stress,” he replies.
“You’re sure? Because it’s creepy as fuck for you to be sitting out here in the fucking dark. It could be misconstrued as a threat.”
He nods, his tongue tracing his lower lip as if I’ve answered a question he hasn’t asked.
“I’m just here to make sure you’re safe.”
“I don’t need your protection.”
“Don’t you?” he challenges.
It doesn’t sound like a threat, but I haven’t exactly been the best judge of character lately.
“You know there’s a good chance Maddox killed that woman while I was thirty yards from her front door.”
He rolls his head slowly to look in my direction. “You know better than that.”
I swallow because deep down I know he’s right.
“The guy that went after her could’ve as easily hurt you.”
It isn’t a threat. I don’t feel a menacing hint to his words. It’s just a fact, something that’s been niggling at the back of my head. If these cases are connected, and I believe with every part of my being that they are, then what will stop my sister’s murderer from coming after me? I would be the obvious choice, wouldn’t I?
What kind of achievement would it be to not only get away with my sister’s murder but to come back fifteen years later and kill me too?
“That look on your face right now is exactly why I’m out here,” Bishop says.
“I don’t need anyone’s protection,” I snap, but even as the words leave my mouth, they feel like a lie.
I cross my arms over my chest. A chill not one caused by the warm summer air settles inside of me.
“I want you to leave,” I say anyway. “If you don’t, I’ll call the department and have you arrested.”
He draws in a deep breath, annoyed with my threat, but he doesn’t argue.
I walk away, my hand on my gun when I reenter my house. I spend the next ten minutes going through every room in the house, opening doors that I’ve ignored for years. I look in every closet, under every bed, and pull back every shower curtain.
When I’m done, having proven I’m all alone, I still feel no safer than I did the night we were told they found my sister dead.
Chapter 26
Ugly
“You’re fucking kidding me,” I growl into the phone, locking eyes with Kincaid as he waits for the call to end so we can get back to work.
“She told me to leave, threatened to call the cops if I didn’t,” Bishop says, and I know the hint of awe I hear in his voice is pride in how damn assertive Lennox can be.
Only right now, her declaration that she doesn’t need protection is fucking misplaced.
“I’m going to drive off, put a little distance. Don’t worry about your girl, man. I’ll stay on her until I’m told differently.”
“Thanks,” I mutter before hanging up, knowing the order that put him there and the one that will pull him away didn’t come from me.
“She’s feisty,” Shadow says, a grin on his face.
“To her own damn detriment,” I mumble. “Where were we?”
“Going through the town’s and all surrounding states’ unsolved murders,” Wren reminds us.
Wren Nelson is the IT specialist for the Blackbridge Security team. They operate out of St. Louis and have helped Cerberus on numerous occasions. I’m not surprised they were brought in on this.
I knew Max had a big mouth. I also knew there was a chance that my request to have him look into hospital records would be relayed to one of my bosses. What I didn’t expect is to once again be called into the conference room to face all the original members. What I presumed was going to be a serious chastisement has turned into an investigation.
After hearing about Lennox going to the hospital for collection of evidence from her body, others got involved.
“I think Lennox was on to something with Jasper Niers,” Wren begins.
“She has wasted so much time on that,” I say loud enough for the man on speaker phone to hear me. “Can we skip those same mistakes.”
“She didn’t waste her time, she just didn’t have access to all of the information,” Wren says. “I have access… well, I’ve gained access, I should say, to sealed records. Jasper Niers was in the same foster home as a guy by the name of Joseph Dixon.”
I tilt my head to the side as he speaks. The name has a ring to it, but for the fucking life of me, I can’t place it with a face.