by Anna Blakely
“That’s all we know for now. We will keep you posted as more information becomes available.”
Sandwiched between Garrett and Alex, Eden and Murphy ignored the questions and comments being thrown their way and went back inside the building. It wasn’t until Eden was back upstairs that she was able to take a deep breath again.
“I think that went well,” Murphy announced to the group. “Their response to your consulting on this case was exactly as I’d expected. With any luck, The Liberator will see it and take the bait.”
His boss’s comment had Alex’s eyes narrowing. “You realize that means we’re hoping the sick fuck comes after Eden, right?”
Murphy’s response was a quipped, “Kind of the point, Bennett.”
Without a word, Alex took hold of her hand and led her down the hall to an unoccupied room. Shutting the door behind them, he pulled her to him.
Wrapping one arm around her waist, the sweet man tucked her head beneath his chin and kissed the top. “I’m sorry.” Alex rested his cheek against her hair. “I know that couldn’t have been easy.”
She pulled away enough to look up at him. “No,” she said honestly. “It wasn’t.”
Remorse filled his eyes as he ran his hand down the back of her hair and asked, “You okay?”
Eden nodded. “Yeah. It definitely brought back some unpleasant memories, but I’m good.”
Leaning in, Alex brought his mouth to hers. He kissed her softly. Slowly. As if they had all the time in the world. It would’ve lasted longer, but a sharp knock on the door forced them apart.
“Boss wants to plan our next move,” Garrett’s muffled voice carried through the thick wood.
Alex sighed. Resting his forehead against hers, he said, “Guess we should get out there.”
“Sooner we do, the sooner we can get back to your place.”
He smiled down at her. “I like the way you think, Miss Westfield.”
Chuckling, Eden turned and opened the door. Once they were back with the others, the two waited to hear what Murphy had in mind.
After tossing around a few ideas, they decided on one they could all agree on. Well, almost all.
Alex didn’t like any of the proposed plans, because they all could potentially put Eden in danger.
Since, like Murphy had said earlier, that was kind of the idea, they finally settled on giving it a couple days to see what would happen. If Josiah didn’t make his move by then, they’d become a little more proactive.
“What do we do in the meantime?” Dan asked from behind Alex’s desk. The guy had clearly made himself at home.
Murphy glanced his way. “We wait.”
****
Chapter Twelve
Three days later…
Alex took a tiny sip of his whiskey and watched Eden carefully. Even from here, he could tell she was exhausted.
Making it seem as if he were talking to Dan, who had taken a seat on the stool next to him, Alex quietly asked, “How you holding up, sweetheart?”
Sitting at the opposite end of the crowded bar, Eden opened her mouth to answer. Instead, her hand went to her mouth to cover the large yawn that had just escaped.
“That’s it.” Alex sat his glass down and stood. “I’m calling it.”
Dan followed his lead and stood, as well. From the corner of his eye, Alex saw Garrett and Rhys set their pool sticks down while Zoe casually began shimmying her way off the dance floor.
Eden started to shake her head but stopped herself. She was supposed to be at the club alone. Pretending to yawn again, she quickly covered her mouth and said, “I’m fine.”
Alex pulled out his phone and pretended to call someone. With a finger pressed to his ear—because if he’d have a helluva time hearing a phone conversation in this noisy-as-fuck place—he said, “You’ve been at this for three days straight, Eden. You need a break. We all do.”
“He’ll find me, Alex. I know he will.”
“Maybe, but not tonight. Garrett, you and Rhys head out but hang back in your car, just in case.”
Garrett gave him a quick, “Copy that.”
“Zoe, wait thirty seconds, then you leave, too. I’ll start for the door, but then stop and pretend to text someone. Eden, once you see Zoe leave, make your way to the front. Dan and I will follow you out.”
“Got it,” Zoe acknowledged his order.
Alex ended the ‘call’, and he and his former teammate slowly walked toward the club’s entrance. As ordered, Garrett and Rhys left together, talking and laughing as though they were simply two drunk buddies calling it a night.
Checking his phone again, Alex stepped aside and began pretend-texting to buy Eden enough time to make her way through the large crowd. But instead of heading in his direction, she stood turned toward the back of the club.
“I need to use the restroom,” she told him as she walked
He frowned. “Now?”
“Yes, now. It’s Friday night and traffic will most likely be insane which means the ride back to your place will take even longer than normal. I’ll be in and out, I promise.”
“I’ll go with her,” Zoe offered.
Alex saw the pretty detective change directions. “Make it quick,” he ordered the two women before adding a softened, “Please.”
Eden looked his way. With a half-assed salute, she gave him a smirk and a wink before carefully weaving herself through the dense crowd. Though it was hard with this many people, he could tell she was doing her best not to touch anyone as she went.
“She’s gonna be a handful for you.” Dan grinned beside him.
Alex snorted. “That’s the truth.”
He kept his eye on her until she disappeared into the small inlet housing both the men’s and women’s restrooms. It was easy to understand the disappointment she was probably feeling, because he felt it, too.
They’d struck out again.
For the past three days and nights, the team—and Dan—had set Eden up in various places where The Liberator—or, Josiah—could easily approach her. Of course, Alex and the others would position themselves nearby, ready to jump in and protect her, if necessary.
They’d tried the coffee shop near the station, the grocery store, and the library. Eden had even taken a few, long walks down by the river, but nothing. In each scenario, she was seemingly alone, yet their killer hadn’t made a single move to take her.
Tonight they’d decided to try this club. It was a popular hangout for young adults, and though it was crowded as hell, it was the perfect setup for a man to approach a young woman without appearing odd or out of the norm.
Eden had been hit on plenty over the past few hours. It was hard as hell for Alex to sit by and listen while other men asked her to dance and offered to buy her drinks. The worst were the drunken assholes who’d use cheesy-as-shit lines to try and get her to leave with them.
A couple times, Alex had started to get up from his seat and intervene, but Eden had covertly told him to stand down. She’d made it clear she wasn’t interested, and lucky for them, none of the guys pushed things too far.
Throughout this whole sting operation, Eden had handled herself with strength and grace. Despite the fact she was physically and mentally spent, she hadn’t complained once. Instead, she’d remained focused, determined to catch the sonofabitch.
Unfortunately, it didn’t look like that was going to happen tonight.
The sound of a faucet turning on tore Alex from his thoughts, and he half-listened as Zoe and Eden made small talk as they washed their hands. When the automatic hand dryer came to life a minute later, it sounded like a jet engine in his ears.
Between that and the loud music, Alex almost missed what happened next.
“Wrong one, buddy,” Zoe told someone. “This is the ladies’ room.”
“Sorry.” A man’s slurred voice came through the mic. “My mistake.”
Sounding unconcerned, Zoe casually responded with, “No problem.”
Assuming the
guy was too drunk to figure out where he should be, Alex kept an eye out on the hallway’s entrance while he waited for the two women to return.
“Dude.” Zoe spoke more sternly. “What are you doing? I told you the men’s room is the other one.”
Internal alarm bells became deafening as instinct had Alex taking a step in the other direction.
No longer slurred, the stranger’s deep voice returned. “I know.”
“What the hell?” Rhys muttered, clearly listening to the odd conversation from the car.
Several painful grunts came through the mic, just before they heard Eden scream Zoe’s name.
“Hello, Eden. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
No. Alex’s eyes shot to Dan’s, his heart rate spiking as he pulled his weapon and took off in Eden and Zoe’s direction. Pushing his way through the crowd, he yelled to Garrett and Rhys.
“He’s here! The sonofabitch is in the bathroom with Eden and Zoe!”
“We heard!” Garrett responded immediately, his breathing labored. “We’re on our way back inside!”
Ignoring the odd looks they were receiving from those around them, Alex and Dan worked to make their way through the oblivious crowd. As they did, Garrett shouted in their ears as he got on the radio and requested backup.
The next thing they heard was a crackling sound right before Eden cried out in pain. Alex’s steps faltered.
“Zoe, are you all right?” A panicked Rhys anxiously tried reaching his partner through their coms. “Damn it, Zoe, answer me!” When she didn’t respond, Alex heard the other man curse and then shout, “I’ll take the back!”
Alex tried pushing past a large group when a guy in his early twenties stepped directly into his and Dan’s path.
“What’s your problem, asshole?”
Fuck. They did not have time for this shit. Alex flashed his badge, yelling when the man and his group of his buddies acted as if they were about to start shit with him.
“Chicago P.D.! Get the hell out of our way!”
Seeing the badge and gun, the guy raised his hands and stepped aside. “Sorry, man.”
Ignoring the drunken idiot, Alex said, “Eden, I’m coming, baby. I’m almost there.” The silence he got in return terrified him.
A few minutes later, he heard another high-pitched scream coming from the restrooms. Expecting to see Eden, Alex was surprised to find three other women standing in the hallway, staring down at the floor as one kept the bathroom door propped open.
“Is she dead?” The shorter blonde asked her friend.
“I don’t know.” The brunette holding the door shook her head. “I can’t tell. There’s so much blood.”
Oh, God. “Police,” Alex announced loudly. “Give me some room!”
With his heart in his throat, he made his way to the open door. His lungs became frozen, the scene before him turning his blood cold.
Zoe was lying in a heap on the bathroom floor. Her eyes were closed, and a crimson pool was slowly spreading across the slick tile.
Grabbing the radio from his belt, Alex quickly announced there was an officer down and ordered an ambulance to the given location. Falling to his knees, he checked for a pulse before rolling Zoe over onto her back as gently as he could.
“Zo?” Rhys’s voice cracked as he rushed to the door. Anguish filled the tortured man’s eyes as they landed on his partner’s still form.
“She has a pulse, but just barely.” Alex pressed his hands against the stab wounds, his teammate’s warm blood oozing between his fingers as he pushed as hard as he could.
“Jesus.” Garrett bumped into a shocked Rhys as he came to his side.
Alex swung his gaze up to his partner before landing on the young ladies still standing in the hallway. He tried—and failed—to control the panic in his voice.
“Where’s the other woman?”
The brunette holding the door appeared confused. “What woman?”
“The one who was with her,” he bit out impatiently. “Five-six, long, dark hair. Golden eyes.” At their blank stares, he gave a hurried description of Eden’s clothing. “She was wearing black jeans, black boots, and a red sweater.”
All three shook their heads. “The hallway was empty when we got here,” the shorter blonde assured him.
Shit. “Was there anyone else in the bathroom?”
The brunette looked down at Zoe and swallowed. “Just her.”
“I’m sorry,” the third woman spoke up. “We didn’t see anyone.”
Garrett ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck!”
Alex’s mind raced to stay in control. Fear for Eden threatened to eat him alive, but he pushed it away and forced himself to think like a detective, rather than a man terrified of losing the woman he loved.
“We need access to the security cameras,” he told Garrett.
“On it.”
His partner spun on his heels and disappeared down the hall while Rhys knelt by Zoe’s head. Alex continued putting pressure on Zoe’s wounds as her partner ran a hand over the top of her head.
“I’m here, Zo,” Rhys whispered next to her ear. “Help’s on the way, but you gotta keep fighting, okay? I’m here, but you have to keep fighting.” He kissed her pale forehead then looked at Alex, twin tears falling down his cheeks. “Where the fuck is EMS?”
The words had no more left his mouth when they heard someone holler out, “Let us through, please.” In the next moment, two paramedics and an officer filled the doorway, a wheeled cot sitting behind them.
To the officer, Alex flashed his badge. “Lock this place down. No one in or out until we’ve interviewed everyone here.”
The young patrolman got on his radio to spread the word while Dan gave the medics a quick run-down of Zoe’s condition. Within minutes they had an IV inserted and were transporting her to the gurney.
“Alex…” Rhys looked at him expectantly.
“Go. We’ll keep you posted.”
With a nod of thanks, the other man took his place by Zoe’s side, helping the medics roll her through the club and out to the ambulance.
To Dan, Alex said, “Someone had to have seen something.”
“The woman you’re looking for…you said she was wearing a red sweater and black jeans, right?”
All eyes turned to a young man pushing his way through the growing mob.
Alex nodded. “You saw her?”
“I saw some guy carrying an unconscious woman matching that description out through the back.” The guy tipped his chin toward the emergency exit at the other end of the hall.
Alex’s heart rate sped up. “When?”
The kid thought a moment. “About five, ten minutes ago, maybe? I almost ran into them when I came out of the restroom.”
Fuck. Too much time had passed. If it was Josiah and Eden, they were long gone by now.
Alex got in the kid’s face. “You saw a man carrying an unconscious woman out the back door, and you didn’t think to tell someone?”
“Look around you, man.” The kid stared back at him as if he’d lost his damn mind. “This place is full of girls who are drunk off their asses. I just figured the guy was taking his date home to sleep it off.”
“He wasn’t her boyfriend, asshole,” Alex growled. “He’s a fucking serial killer and he just walked out with his next victim.”
“Bennett.” Dan put a shoulder to his arm. “Easy, man.”
Alex shrugged him off. “No.” He looked at his friend. “He has her, Dan. That bastard stabbed Zoe and now he has Eden.”
“I get that but taking it out on this guy isn’t going to help us find her.”
Goddamnit. Dan was right. The kid was only trying to help and here he was, tearing him a new asshole.
Over the next few minutes, Alex took the young man’s statement, jotting down everything the kid could remember. By the time he was finished, Garrett had returned from tracking down the footage from the cameras.
“I watched the feed. You can see the s
onofabitch carrying Eden out the back door about four minutes before you and Dan made it back here.” Garrett grabbed the back of his neck, rubbing the muscles there. “He must’ve had a car parked just outside in the alley.”
“Any cameras positioned out there?” Alex asked, praying they could get a license plate from it. But Garrett shook his head.
“Manager said since they only use that door to take out the trash, the owner didn’t see a need for the added expense.”
Alex closed his eyes as a feeling of hopelessness washed over him. “He has her, Garrett.” He opened them again. “That son of a bitch has her, and we have no way of knowing where they went.”
“I may have a way.”
Both Garrett and Alex turned to Dan. “How?”
“One of my partner’s wives is what’s called a remote locater. Her name’s Kat, and she works for Phoenix, as well as several other agencies. She found a group of hostages in the past. I believe she can help us find Eden, as well.”
As unbelievable as Kat’s ability sounded, Alex was willing to try anything to bring Eden back to him.
Looking at Dan, he didn’t hesitate in saying, “Make the call.”
Chapter Thirteen
The first thing Eden noticed when she woke was the unusual fogginess rolling around inside her brain. That and the pounding headache that made her want to vomit.
Through the thick haze, she noticed her muscles were sore, each movement feeling as though she’d given herself one hell of a workout at the gym. But she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been to a gym.
What the heck happened to me?
Eden attempted to sit up, but large, metal clasps restraining her ankles and wrists prevented it. A flash of memory hit, and it all came rushing back in an instant.
The club. The man. The taser. Zoe.
Oh, God. He stabbed Zoe.
Eden opened her mouth to call for help, but no sound escaped. She swallowed, but her throat and mouth were so dry, it was as if she’d been chewing on cotton.
