Chapter 19
19
CHANDLER
“ I need you to stay right here. Do not move or open the door for anyone but me. I’m locking you in.”
After ensuring she was tucked safely into the truck, I slammed the door and pressed the lock button on the key fob. Before returning to the apartment, I cast one last look through the passenger window.
Ellie was as still as a statue, eyes wide and unblinking, hair still damp from the shower, her only movement the slight tremble in that lower lip. Clearly in shock and barely hanging on to her sanity. Then again, who wouldn’t be after receiving a rotting human scalp?
Forcing myself into action, I stormed back to retrieve the cell phone I dropped the moment her terrified scream filled the apartment. Once inside, I paused outside her room, my gaze locked on the grisly package still lying in the same spot from moments earlier as I retrieved the small device from the floor.
I tapped a few buttons and pressed the phone to my ear.
“I’m sorry I cockblocked you earlier, but I won’t help you finish.” The lightness in Alec’s tone pissed me the fuck off, for no other reason than my endless frustration at myself and the fucker who was tormenting my girl.
“The fucker sent her the missing scalp,” I gritted out through clenched teeth. Massaging my brows, I stepped toward the bedroom but halted when the smell became too intense. “Plain brown box, no return address. Just that victim’s full scalp, hair still attached.”
In the background, the roar of a large diesel engine filled the tense quiet. “You gotta be fucking kidding me. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I need to get the evidence secured and gathered.”
“I’ll handle that. There’s a guy in Waco whose cell I have on speed dial, unfortunately.”
A heavy pause held between us, neither of us knowing what to say.
“She was a blonde,” I stated, those four words heavy with meaning.
“Yeah,” Alec said. “I saw the picture her parents used when she went missing.”
“Long blonde.” My concern for Ellie made all the aspects of the case and questions blur. But something her mother said just a few hours earlier snapped to the forefront of my mind. “Ellie used to have long blonde hair, right?”
“Yes. She started cutting it and dying it after she left Brett. Said she didn’t like what it stood for.”
“It had something to do with Jacob.”
“Which, if this gift was long blonde hair when Ellie dyes hers the complete opposite….”
“This is more evidence that the cult is involved in some way.”
“But why now?” Alec asked. “She’s been dying her hair for two years now. Maybe he really hates the new color?” I tilted my head one way and then the other, debating his question. “You think it’s Jacob, then?” he asked before I could respond.
“If not him directly, then he’s orchestrating it somehow. Or maybe it’s one of the other men within the compound who wanted her, but she was given to that bastard Jacob instead.” I paced. “One thing is for certain, Ellie is at the heart of it all.”
Alec cursed. “Hasn’t that poor girl been through enough? And now she has a sick motherfucker thinking she’s his and needs to come back to him?” He let out a resigned sigh. “I don’t know how you do this every day.”
“It’s normally not this—” I searched my scattered brain for the right word. “—personal. I’ve always taken what happens after I arrive as my fault, letting the weight of the guilt push me to do more, see more. But now?” I leaned against the wall and let my head thump against it, closing my eyes, hating what I was about to admit. “Now I can’t think clearly. All I can focus on is getting her somewhere safe and not on the case. I don’t think I can protect her and do my job to the best of my ability at the same time.” Casting a long look out the front door, I groaned. “Now I’m no good to her or this town.”
“Hold off on berating yourself too much there, Chan Chan.” I rolled my eyes, but a fraction of the weight on my shoulders lifted at his attempt at breaking through to me. “None of this is your fault unless you’re the killer we’re searching for.” I let out an incredulous huff. “Well, then, there you go. And no one would be able to think clearly right now. You have her there, vulnerable, a scalp in the other room, and I’m guessing she’s a bit distressed at what was in the box and the realization that she’s this psycho’s target.”
“You’re right,” I groaned. “But it still sounds like an excuse.”
“Get her to our place. Make sure she’s safe and taken care of. I’ll make the necessary calls and meet you back at the house in about forty minutes. We’ll powwow then and come up with new suspects. Don’t think this is all on your shoulders. I’m here, and once Ellie shakes out of her shock, she’ll help too. With her being the center of all this, we now have a base. We go through her past, match up dates with her life, and circle out from there. This is actually a good thing.”
“Seriously?”
“Once you’re not in the midst of it all, you’ll see that too. This fucker made a mistake tonight.”
“Showing us the ‘who,’” I mused.
“And making this personal to two scary bastards who are set on protecting that woman no matter the cost.”
“Damn right.”
“That’s the spirit. Forty minutes. See you at the house.”
The line went dead.
Inhaling deep, I immediately regretted it as the stench of decay infiltrated my nose. Shaking out my self-doubt and heavy guilt, I swiped my undershirt off the floor and pulled it over my head, grabbing my dress shirt at the last second. Holding my breath, I slipped into her room, grabbed the bags of new clothes and her favorite boots.
The moment I stepped over the threshold heading outside, I inhaled a deep breath of clean evening air. Some of the tension eased until movement around the truck caught my eye. A man stood beside the passenger side door, hands pressed to the window.
“Hey,” I shouted, striding toward the truck, the bags swaying awkwardly against my knees. The man turned, and the one working security light highlighted Stan’s face. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Stan pressed a shoulder against the truck’s black paint and crossed his arms, effectively blocking my access to Ellie. The thin plastic of the clothing bags dug into my fingers, cutting off circulation as my grip tightened.
“I’m making sure she’s okay. I heard a scream, and now she’s locked in your truck. The fuck you doing to her?” Popping off the truck, he took a menacing step closer. A cocky laugh rumbled in my chest at the thought of him trying to fight me. “Where you taking her?”
“I didn’t do anything to Ellie.” When I passed by, my shoulder happened to slam into his chest, sending him stumbling back. I dropped the bags to the pavement beside the back door. “And where I’m taking her is none of your concern.”
“Sure as fuck is. We watch out for each other around here, and I don’t know you.”
“I’m a fully background-checked federal agent who only has the best intentions for that woman sitting nearly traumatized in the truck. She’s safe.”
“Says you. Seems like the opposite to me.”
I didn’t flinch when his words hit home, pouring salt on the gash my own doubt and guilt inflicted. “Better with me than you.”
“Ellie.” Stan turned and yelled at the window. “You don’t have to go with him.”
She didn’t move, simply kept that unseeing stare toward the now closed door of her apartment.
“I don’t have time for this.” I fished a business card out of my pocket and tossed it to him. He fumbled to catch it before it fluttered to the ground. “That’s my cell. Call me if you have any information about who left a package on her front step earlier tonight. Ask around, see if anyone can describe who left it or when it was dropped it off.” He eyed the card suspiciously. “But right now she’s in shock and needs to get out of here.”
He looked over his shoulder, those big bushy brows furrowing in concentration.
“This isn’t the first box to be left.”
“What?” I roared in his face. “And you didn’t think to tell her, or me?”
Stan flicked his gaze nervously around the parking lot, licking his lips. “It’s only been a few times, or maybe a little more. I knew she wouldn’t want them, so I picked them up before she saw they were left for her. I never saw who left them though. They just appeared.”
I held a breath to keep myself from killing the man who’d tampered with evidence. “Where are they?”
“I tossed them.” His response was soft. But was that remorse for throwing away evidence or because he didn’t want competition from Jacob?
“What was in them?”
“I… I didn’t look. I just threw them in the dumpster out back.” He sighed and glanced to Ellie. “I know that cult wants her to come back. It’s why I do it. She doesn’t belong with them. This is her home.”
“With you?” I questioned.
“With us. Not in there dying each day. Everyone around here knows what goes on behind them fences. Ellie is special. She doesn’t deserve that.”
This was going nowhere, and I still had a semi-catatonic Ellie to think about. “Someone will be by soon to collect evidence inside the apartment. Do not let anyone inside until they arrive. Are we clear?” Not waiting for an answer, I unlocked the doors, tossed the bags into the back seat, and slammed the door closed. “Call me if you think of anything or anyone suspicious lately.”
At that, I rounded the hood and climbed into the truck, hitting the start button before the door was closed. The engine roared to life, pumping warm air through the vents, the engine still somewhat warm from the earlier road trip.
Ellie stayed silent, completely still besides her trembling shoulders as I backed out of the parking spot. Goose bumps covered her bare skin, and her lips were a soft shade of blue.
“Damnit,” I muttered to myself. Shifting into Park, I reached into the back, pulling my dress shirt over to the front seat. Careful to make my movements slow, I draped the shirt over her shoulders and tucked the ends beneath her thighs. After securing her seat belt, I leaned back to my seat and put the truck back in gear.
She stayed silent the entire ride, not that I said anything either. What was there to say? Casual conversation about the weather seemed silly when the night had taken a dark turn. So instead of saying anything, I reached over the center console and slid my fingers into hers, offering her the little comfort I could while driving.
But it wasn’t enough. None of what I could do was enough. Once again I was failing when others needed me most. I wasn’t asking the right questions or putting the information together fast enough, and now the one woman who made me feel less broken was the one in danger.
I had to find the unsub before it was too late.
For Ellie, and for me. If something happened to her because I couldn’t solve the puzzle in time, I’d never forgive myself. I’d drown in the ocean of guilt that I’d barely kept at bay this past year.
So there I had it.
Save Ellie and save myself.
I would not fail her.
No matter the cost.
The slam of the garage door rattled through the house, all the way to the bedroom where I lay staring at the ceiling. Alec was back. Rolling off the bed, I swung my legs over the edge and braced both elbows on my knees.
“Where are you going?” Ellie’s voice was quiet, heavy with exhaustion.
“Alec is back. We need to… plan.” The handmade quilt twisted with my movement as I turned toward the other side of the bed where she lay. “We’ll be right down the hall if you need us. But don’t be scared. We’ve got you.”
“Chandler,” she said as she pushed up to her elbows. “I’m not scared.”
Surprise lifted both brows high on my forehead. “You’re not?”
Short dark locks shifted along her neck. “Shocked, sure. But scared, no. I know you’re here.” Her timid smile warmed my soul. “And you’ll find him before anything can happen to me.” Twisting out of the piles of blankets I’d covered her with earlier she mimicked my stance, her toes dangled just over the carpet. “I want to help.”
“Ellie,” I groaned. “Give yourself tonight.”
“You’re not,” she countered, raising her chin defiantly. “And I feel—” She rubbed at her sternum with a small fist. “—guilty.”
“Guilty?” I countered. “That’s my job. I’m the one who hasn’t caught the bastard.”
“And I’m the one he’s after. All those women.” Tears built in her lower lids. “All those women died because of me.”
I was across the bed in an instant, gripping her chin between two fingers and forcing her to look up to where I towered over her small frame. “He’s the one responsible for all this, not you. Do you hear me, Ellie?” I cocked my head to the side, a sudden realization hitting me. “I don’t know your last name.”
“I don’t have one.”
“What?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t want to keep Jacob’s and never came up with another one. Besides, last names are familiar, showing a family line and where you belong. I don’t belong anywhere.”
I angled my head right, then left, inspecting each inch of her face. “Well, maybe one day we can fix that. But right now,” I said, an idea already running through my head, “we have an unsub to profile.”
Standing, I extended a hand and helped her off the high bed. The movement made her tits bounce beneath my dress shirt, now slightly sheer from her wet hair. I pursed my lips.
“Would you mind putting on something a little more…?” I waved a hand, drawing her attention to her nipples pointing straight at me. “I really don’t want to kick Alec’s ass for staring at those gorgeous tits of yours.”
“He wouldn’t,” she said with fake audacity.
“He’s a guy, and you’re beautiful and mostly naked, so yes, yes he would.”
She chewed on her lip, reminding me of something else.
“Oh, and I dumped what was left of your candy bowl into one of those big green bags on my way out of your apartment.” Her eyes lit up again, warming a part of me that had turned gray with the night’s events. “I’ll meet you out there when you’re ready.”
She nodded, tucking a damp strand of hair behind her ear. “Chandler,” she said when I was halfway through the door. “I hope this doesn’t dampen our, um, rain check on the earlier festivities.”
I shot her a wink. “Let’s narrow down the list of suspects. Then we’ll talk about finishing what we started.”
Crossing her arms over her ample chest, she huffed. “I hate this guy even more now.”
“Same, baby, same.”
With a smile on my lips, I closed the door, giving her privacy to change. I’d already secured the window and checked the closet and under the bed—twice—so I knew she was safe alone.
When I rounded the corner, only Alec’s wide ass was visible, the rest of his bulky frame hidden behind the opened refrigerator door.
“I can hear you thinking.” His voice was muffled. “How is she?”
“Better than I would be, I think.” The wooden chair legs scraped along the floor as I pulled it away from the table. Falling into the hard seat, I pressed an elbow onto the table and rested my head on my fisted knuckles. Something about her parents’ earlier visit that wouldn’t stop bothering me nagged at me again. “Have you ever met her parents?”
“Those fuckheads don’t deserve the title, but yeah. Why?”
“They were there tonight when we pulled up to her apartment.” The contents of the fridge rattled, glass jars clinking with the slam of the door. “Did anything ever bother you about them, besides how they raised her and gave her to that asshole Jacob?”
Alec ripped the thin plastic off the block of cheese in his hand and took a huge bite. I shook my head, fighting a laugh.
“What? I was hungry, and we have shit here. One of us needs to go grocery shopping.”
“You mean go through what’s on the shelves at the Food Mart that might have expired in 2018?”
“Better than nothing. And besides them being the two worst people I’ve ever met—mind you, I know Brett and have met Jacob—nothing stands out. Why, something bothering you about those two?”
I nodded and dropped my hand to the table. “I’ve seen so many different families all across the US and even some abroad. And I’ve always been able to see at least one similarity. Whether it’s in the color of their hair, or eyes, or build. Sometimes it’s even the texture of the hair. But they all have something similar.” Leaning the chair back on two legs, I looked down the hall for Ellie in case she was eavesdropping. “She looks nothing like them. Not a single similar quality. Not one. Considering how they treated her, what they forced her to watch, and how easily they seemed to give her away, I don’t know. It raises my suspicion.”
Alec tore another bite of cheese off the block and chewed while looking past me, deep in thought. “I wouldn’t put it past them to switch around babies so no one is attached. That would explain the detachment and zero similarities.”
I deflated a little. He was right. And it made more sense than the way my imagination was taking me. But still, the inkling that something wasn’t right wouldn’t go away.
Lost in thought, I failed to notice Ellie until she was standing directly in front of me.
“Hey, you good?” Alec asked. Tossing the half-eaten cheese block into the fridge, he made his way to the table and pulled her into a tight hug. “Don’t worry. You’re safe with us.”
“I know,” she said with an eye roll. I fought a grin. “And I can take care of myself too.” Alec and I shared a look. “What?” she exclaimed, pushing out of his hold and resting her small backside on my thigh. I adjusted, widening my legs to make it more comfortable for her. “I can take care of myself.”
“It’s not that we don’t believe you, Ellie. It’s just… this man who’s clearly fixated on you….” Alec waved to me. “You explain it to her.”
Wrapping an arm around her waist, I urged her higher up my thigh. “What Alec is trying to say is this guy is strong. It takes an enormous amount of force to break through the upper rib cage with a blade. The bruising around the wound was deep too. We’re not saying you can’t take care of yourself, but this is an anomaly.”
“Fine.” She sighed, a little deflated. “But I won’t let myself become dependent on you guys, let you have power over me. I can’t go back to that.”
“We’re nothing like Brett or Jacob,” I said with bite to my tone. My hackles rose at even the suggestion.
“I know. I mean, I think I know. It’s just… I’ve worked hard to be okay on my own, and I don’t want to go back to needing someone else.”
I nodded, hating it but understanding.
“So.” She pulled a Blow Pop from a hidden side pocket of the new leggings. “Where do we start on catching this asshole?”
I shouldn’t have felt relief, not with me failing her so terribly, but I did.
That half smirk, the hope shining in her eyes, and the excitement clearly rushing through her veins were enough to ease my overprotective urges. She was handling this better than I was. Pride grew for my girl in how strong she was in the face of all this.
I tugged her closer, and she leaned against my chest and nestled her head in the crook of my neck.
And that solidified it for me.
Her strength yet vulnerability in my arms.
I would never let her go.