Chapter 40 #2
Walking into the station, I make my way to my desk.
Stacks of paperwork pile up that I’m dreading to complete.
Sitting my happy ass down, I get to work completing the workups for the cases I was able to close these last two weeks.
I was given simple easy ones until I was able to get back to full recovery.
Honestly, I’m not going to complain about it.
It helped me keep my mind busy from thinking about her.
It helped for the time I was there. But when I was out in the city to get food or go to the gym, I would catch a glimpse of a female that looked similar to her.
I even freaked this chick out when I spun her around and got a swift kick in the balls.
She had the same skin complexion, hair, and height, I swore it was her. To my disappointment, it wasn’t.
“Solace. Office.” Auston, Stevens’ boss, calls me from his office doors with a flat tone.
Great, what now? I push away from the desk catching the questionable looks from my team.
I shrug, implying I have no idea what this is about.
Once inside the office, I close the door behind me.
Auston sits behind the desk clicking his pen.
I stand straight with my hands behind my back, a habit I gained from the military.
“How are you holding up? Your cases are flying off the shelf. Good job getting them resolved quickly.” He watches me with a calculating observation.
I’ve talked to this man twice in my career, not sure if this is going to lead to a good conversation or the one where I need to take a step back from my supervisory role. Maybe he found out I’ve been using resources to track down Celeste.
“I’m good. Pretty much back to full strength. Cases were easy, nothing compared to what I was handling before,” I deadpan.
He nods in agreement as he pulls out a sheet of paper.
“As you know, we haven’t appointed a new Director.
With Stevens still in the hospital and with his actions, he won’t be returning.
You're our top agent and the best fit for the roll. It’s yours if you want it.
Comes with a pay bump and this office.” He pushes the paper forward with the agreement and a hefty number.
This was something I’ve always wanted since joined the force.
I would make changes better for the people and the agents.
If you asked me a couple months ago, I would have jumped at the offer.
Now, I hesitate. If I take this position, that would mean I’ve given up.
Giving up on the woman that I love and can’t live without.
It’s funny how things change when your person finally comes into your life.
If I take this, I will be hiding what I did that night when I found Celeste.
No one ever found the pastor. But I know I was the one who killed him. I know exactly who covered up all the traces that would link back to me. I don’t feel guilty for taking his life, and there’s one more person I want to see life leave his eyes. I would be a hypocrite.
“Can I have some time to think about it?” I finally ask him.
“Of course. You have until the end of the week.” I nod in response and take my leave.
It’s been three days since my meeting with Auston and I still haven’t given him an answer.
The deadline is coming quickly and I’m still nowhere closer to finding her.
I’m finding that my anger is resurfacing with every failed hint.
Beckett gets the shit end of the stick when we spar.
I’m running out of patience and unfortunately, I take it out on him.
Today is a quiet day in the office. Everyone is either working through their paperwork or chasing leads on the street. Beckett’s head pops over the divider with a grin spread across his face. He signals for Monroe and I to come over.
“Look who I found, not being as discreet as she thinks she is.” Beckett points at the screen.
Angela is in plain sight, looking over her shoulder as she meets with Samantha at the damn cafe where I met Celeste. He types furiously on the computer. I have no idea how or what he did but data starts scrolling up and down the screen.
“I was able to hack into Samantha’s phone. Angela slipped and called her from a live number instead of unknown. Running the number, I was able to hack into the phone and bam we got a lead.” He sits back in his chair with triumph written all over his face.
I will never understand how the hell he does this stuff but I’m not going to question it.
“Sooooo…are you going to tell us what lead you got?” Monroe is just as confused as I am.
He leans back over and starts typing again, searching through documents, emails, and confirmation numbers.
“She booked a one-way ticket to Italy. It flies out tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. I believe that’s where Celeste is. Not sure why she didn’t just take Celeste’s private jet.” He clicks a button and the flight number appears on the screen.
My heart speeds up with excitement. We found her.
The misstep of her assistant and we finally have a location.
I should have known. She went there when we first met.
We would facetime and talk every night she was there.
She’d said how she had family out there and, one day, that’s where she would end up.
“Booking our tickets now. Unfortunately, this flight is full but I was able to find another one leaving at nine in the morning!” Beckett explains with excitement.
Our tickets? Doesn’t he realize that I’m not coming back without her? I can’t have him follow me. He has a life here?
“What do you mean our tickets? You can’t go with me. You have a job here. I can’t ask you to go.”
“Of course I’m going. I have some words for her tech boy over there. Plus, we’re a team and you're going to need my help. Pack your bags, dude. We have a woman to hunt down.” He waves me away, not giving any room to argue.
I guess it’s time to give Auston his answer. Before I can go, I need to make a quick stop to pay a little fucker a visit. What I do today is going to determine my whole damn future.
After dropping my badge and gun off with Auston, I head towards the hospital. Beckett has the cameras shut down so no traces of me are left.
Holding flowers, I act like I’m visiting my sick wife next door to the room I intend to actually visit. Once the halls are clear, I slip into the room and slide on gloves. Closing the door, I also make sure to close the blinds so no one witnesses what I have to do.
The monitor beeps, tracking the heart rate of the sleeping body it’s hooked up to. I stand over him and watch him for a moment, remembering every single detail of his face. Flashbacks of all that he’s done runs through my head.
I move over to the side of his bed and take a seat. He stirs awake and looks up to see who’s with him. His eyes grow wide as he sees the fire that projects from mine.
“W-what are you doing here, Alaric?” His voice is full of panic and he tries to move away from me but his cuffed hand prevents him.
His fear fuels something inside of me. It’s begging to be let out to play. Who am I to deny that request?
“Oh. You thought you were going to live? Prison doesn’t take lightly when they find out that you helped collaborate with a female murder. I would be really upset if they got to you before I did.” A sinister grin spreads across my face.
The smell of urine collides with my nostrils. Did he just piss himself? Standing up from the side of the bed, I move closer to him, yanking a pillow from under his head.
“Whatever you think I did, it’s not true. I was set up. Please, you have to believe me.” His body trembles as he begs for his life.
Placing the pillow over his head, I press down to muffle his cries. I can hear him trying to gasp for air. Suffocation isn’t enough. Pulling a pistol from the back of my jeans, I place it to the side and pull the trigger. The silencer helps with the sound so it doesn’t alert someone to come in.
Sliding the pistol back into my jeans, I cover it up with my hoodie. I slowly pull the pillow off his face and the monitor flatlines. This shouldn’t feel good, but all I feel is complete satisfaction.
Say hi to the devil for me, you piece of shit.