Chapter 46
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
kole
I leaned against the wall, watching Dani pace for the hundredth time.
Susan was typing away on her computer, ignoring everyone else.
Harry kept glaring at her every few seconds since he couldn’t go outside and smoke.
There were a few other people in here, but no one was talking.
We were in the backroom of the police station doing nothing but waiting.
“I would have been fine at home,” Adella mumbled from beside me. “I should have brought liquor. This is going to be a long fucking night.”
“You were going to walk home alone,” I said gruffly. “The killer isn’t done. And I’m not going to let you be the next victim with a knife in her chest.”
A laugh bubbled from her. “So nice to know you still care. I was starting to wonder since you spend all your time with your new roommate.”
Her light teasing had a smile tipping my lips for the first time since I walked into the police station.
“Are we really just going to wait in here all night?” Dani grated out, her eyes flashing with annoyance when she looked at Susan. “We should be out there, looking for him. Three tonight. He’s going to try to kill again, and we’re doing nothing to stop it.”
“We’re doing everything we can,” Susan replied curtly, not looking away from her screen. “If anyone is in trouble, they can call the emergency line and then we’ll respond.”
“The others could have been murdered in their homes last night,” Dani argued. “There were never any calls placed.”
“We can’t search everyone’s houses,” Harry piped up. “So if that’s the case, we would be no help anyway.”
“We’re hiding,” Dani forced out through clenched teeth. “We should have search parties combing the town—”
“Not enough manpower,” Harry cut in.
“It would put more people in danger if we did that,” Susan said.
“We would have to call in more resources.” She paused, glancing between me and the medical intern that was here.
“The locals like to handle things on their own here. Though that will soon change if this isn’t stopped.
We will do what we can in here tonight. We’ll have a list of new people to question by morning. ”
Tension blanketed the room when no one responded.
Dani threw a look at me as if wanting me to intervene.
When I shook my head, she scowled and started pacing again.
I could deal with her anger. It was better than her being on the streets at night when the killer seemed to have a special interest in her. The asshole even knew her birth name.
“Is it always this somber?” Adella whispered, nudging me in the shoulder. “Why would you want to work here instead of at the bar?”
“You have to ask?”
“I knew it,” she hummed out in amusement. “That intern got under your skin.” She lowered her voice. “What happens when she leaves?”
My stomach churned. “I don’t know.”
“Maybe you can be nice to Susan.”
I frowned, meeting her gaze. “What the hell does that mean?”
“You’ve been here five years, Kole. I’ve known you ever since I came here.
You’re not a bad guy. Yet, Natalie never approved you to leave.
And Susan is already acting like she hates you.
It’s like you purposefully want to stay here.
Maybe you like it.” Her eyes drifted to Dani. “But now you have a reason to leave.”
Guilt stabbed me in the chest. Adella was one of the good ones. I wonder how she’d react if she ever found the truth of who I really was. The phone rang, making everyone freeze. Dani was closest, and she snatched it up.
“Emergency line,” she answered.
She went utterly still, her face paling. I shoved off the wall, striding closer. Susan jumped up from her chair, getting to Dani before I could. She pressed a button on the phone base, nodding at Dani to put the handset down.
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
The raspy, mechanical voice came through the speakerphone. Dani’s eyes were glued to the phone. There wasn’t a speck of fear or panic on her face—she had no emotion at all.
“Who is this?” Dani asked, her voice calm and steady.
“You’re not home. I was waiting for you, Dani.”
I clenched my fists, the robotic voice shooting rage through me. He was taunting us. Taunting Dani. Why?
“I’m right here,” Dani hissed. “Come get me.”
“So strong,” the voice mocked. “You might be safe in there. But three of the townspeople weren’t so lucky. Want this to end? Then come outside alone. Finish it.”
The loud dial tone filled the room when the call ended. Susan hit the button, and the silence had my ears ringing. Until everyone started talking at once.
“Finish it?” Susan repeated, her voice shaking slightly. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
Dani’s whispered answer was barely heard over Harry’s ramblings about trying to find out the number that called. Without thinking about it, I placed my hand on Dani’s lower back. She jumped, spinning around. I met her wild gaze, my heart sinking.
“What’s wrong?” I asked in a low voice.
“Nothing.” Her head snapped up when Susan grabbed her arm. “Don’t fucking touch me.”
Susan withdrew her arm like she got burned, her lips parting in shock at Dani’s words.
She recovered quickly, turning her attention to Harry to discuss what to do.
Dani darted away, and I raced after her, catching the door of the woman’s restroom before it slammed shut.
She staggered to the sink, grasping the edge of the counter.
“Dani,” I said softly. “Look at me.”
“I need to go.”
I grabbed her shoulders when she tried darting past me. “Stop. What’s going on?”
“Leave me alone.” In an expert move, she shoved my arms off her and ducked under to get around me. “I have to find him—”
I got in her way again, keeping myself between her and the door. “Talk to me,” I urged, keeping my voice low.
“He has to die,” she screamed, her palms slapping my chest. “I’m going to fucking kill him. He was there that night. He helped ruin me. Created what I am today.”
I wasn’t even sure if she realized she was shouting this all out loud. I gripped her upper arms, trying to catch her eye, but she was trapped in her own head. My pulse thrashed, feeling her trembling in my hold.
“Look at me,” I demanded gently. “You’re not alone. You don’t have to handle this alone. I’m here.”
She struggled against me, but she wasn’t fighting. Her fear was overtaking everything else. Wrapping my arms around her, I crushed her to me, hugging her tightly.
“Breathe,” I ordered. “I’m right here.”
“He’s…he knows about me. My past,” she panted, her chest heaving. “His words…”
“What words?”
“Finish it,” she choked out hoarsely. “That’s what I heard the night in your bar when I panicked. It’s the same thing one of my attackers said that night.”
She buried her face in my chest as I processed her words. The odds of her attacker being here wasn’t huge, but she seemed convinced.
“Maybe it was a coincidence—”
“No,” she shrieked, pushing away from me. “It was him.”
She raised her chin, finally meeting my gaze. Her eyes were clearing of the panic, and in its place was a fast-growing rage.
“Dani,” I said slowly. “You can’t just run out into the dark, looking for him. That’s what the asshole wants. It’s why he called.”
My attention went to the door when there was a small knock before it was cracked open.
Adella’s head appeared, giving me a nervous smile. “Is everything okay? We heard screaming—”
“Move,” Susan’s impatient voice overtook Adella’s question as the door was shoved open more. “Get out. I need to talk to Dani.”
I didn’t move a muscle. “Talk about what?”
“That doesn’t concern you. Harry needs to speak to you.”
Dani’s hand fell on my arm. “Go, Kole. I’m fine.”
Her voice was clear and strong, laced with a vengeance that had my stomach knotting. There was no way I was letting her out of this building without me. She wanted revenge, and I wasn’t sure she was thinking clearly right now.
Susan shooed me away, and I bit back my sharp retort when Dani gave me a little push. I stormed out of the bathroom, halting right outside the door. I waited for it to close, and stuck my foot out, keeping it cracked.
My gaze swept across the room, confusion filling me when I only saw Adella.
Where the hell did everyone go? Adella stared at me, raising an eyebrow before shaking her head.
I didn’t care if I was eavesdropping. Dani might have composed herself when Susan walked in, but I saw the look in her eye.
That phone call pushed her to a point where she was only thinking of vengeance.
“Is there something I should know?” Susan’s quiet voice came from the bathroom.
“Know about what?” Dani asked, her voice still eerily calm.
“Whoever we’re dealing with seems to know you. Why?”
“I have no idea.”
“Maybe this was a mistake. Bringing someone like you here for the internship. We never should have changed the rules—”
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Dani snapped. “I don’t know why the killer is focusing on me. But I’d love to find out. Unless you have any new information to tell me, I’d like to leave.”
Susan took a while to answer. “We’re all going outside to search. Hopefully he lied on the phone about three more victims.”
“Doubtful. His history makes me believe he already killed before making the call.”
“We stay together once we leave. No running off alone. Understand?”
“Yes.”
I hurried away, Susan’s words replaying in my head. A couple seconds later, the door swung open, and Dani stepped out first. Adella remained near Harry’s desk, humming a tune under her breath.
Susan eyed me warily. “Is there a reason you chased Dani into the restroom?”
“Nope.” My one worded answer had her lips pressing into a line.
“I need to get my jacket. I’ll be out in a minute,” Dani muttered.
“I’ll meet you out there,” Adella said, following Susan.
When they both left the room, I swung my attention to Dani, who was slipping on her puffy jacket. She grabbed her gloves before turning around.
Her gaze was guarded. “It’s rude to listen to other people’s conversations.”
My heart flipped. “What did she mean. Someone like you?”
“She knows my past,” she said stiffly. “And she thinks I can’t do my job properly because of the trauma.”
I studied her, an odd feeling coming over me. “Really? I wasn’t aware Susan knew about interns.”
“I guess they don’t tell you everything.”
When she walked by me, I snagged her upper arm, stopping her. Her eyes went from my hold on her arm to my face.
“I already told you I wouldn’t pry into your past. I stand by that,” I said in a low voice, searching her face. “But I want you to know I can read you too—and you just lied to me.”
A flicker of surprise crossed her face before it was gone. She tugged away, giving me no response until she moved toward the exit.
“I can’t give you all my secrets,” she said with a note of sadness. “I don’t think I ever will. So be happy with what we have now…or don’t. But I won’t give you more.”
My heart beat unevenly as she disappeared through the door.
She wasn’t defensive about whatever she was hiding.
It seemed like she was scared to tell me.
She’d already admitted that she’d killed before Tristin and Leon attacked her.
I guessed it had something to do with that.
What other horrors had she gone through?
I couldn’t imagine her taking a life unless necessary.
Susan’s voice cut through the air. “Let’s go. No one goes off alone. We all stay together.”
The mechanical voice echoed in my head as I went after Dani. Dissecting her and Susan’s conversation would have to wait until later. I really fucking hoped we didn’t find more bodies tonight. Winterlake would get shut down if the killer wasn’t caught soon.