Chapter 16
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Duke broke into a jog, weaving through the back rows as shocked murmurs rippled through the audience.
A few people gasped. Others craned their necks to see what was happening. Phones lifted instinctively, too many people eager for a video.
Colin ducked into a side aisle toward the rear exit.
“Colin!” Duke snapped, his voice sharp enough to cut through the noise.
A few heads turned. The crowd hushed in a ripple.
Colin flinched—he’d definitely heard Duke—but he didn’t stop.
Duke lengthened his stride, catching up just as Colin shoved a hand toward the door. Duke grabbed his arm and pulled him back, pivoting smoothly so his own body blocked the exit. Controlled. Deliberate. No wasted motion.
A chorus of gasps broke out.
“Oh no. No, no, no—” Rupert’s voice rose somewhere behind them, thin with panic. “This is being recorded. This is absolutely being recorded. Do you have any idea how this looks?”
Before Duke could respond, someone stepped in from the edge of the crowd.
“Everyone, please keep moving.” The man wore a SafeStride badge clipped to his jacket, his tone calm but authoritative. Early forties. Confident. Trained. “This is a private matter. Event staff will handle it.”
He subtly positioned himself between Duke and the nearest phones, lifting one hand just enough to block a camera angle without making a scene.
“Hey—!” Colin choked out, stumbling a step back.
“You’re not running out of here.” Duke braced one arm against the doorframe, cutting off escape without touching Colin again. “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here.”
Rupert hovered behind them, wringing his hands. “We are going to have to issue a statement. A very carefully worded statement.”
The SafeStride rep glanced at Duke. “You want security?”
Duke didn’t take his eyes off Colin. “Yes.”
Colin’s breathing had gone shallow now. Trapped. Seen. And for the first time since Duke had spotted him, scared.
“I didn’t do anything!” Colin’s voice cracked as his eyes flicked between Duke and the staring crowd. “I swear—I didn’t!”
“Funny.” Duke grabbed Colin’s arm again. “Because things tend to go dark whenever you show up.”
“I didn’t cause the outage!” Colin blurted. “I don’t even know how that stuff works! I know numbers—not lighting!”
Duke studied him. Really studied him.
This man’s fear was real. Sweat beaded along his hairline. His pulse thudded under Duke’s grip. But he was hiding something. Duke was sure of it.
“Why are you here?” Duke demanded.
Colin swallowed, his bravado collapsing. “Because no one else is looking for Gina! Because the police won’t tell me anything! Because Pam hates me and thinks I’m the devil, and now everyone thinks I hurt Gina—”
“She’s missing,” Duke cut in. “And you keep turning up wherever we are.”
“I’m trying to find answers.” Colin’s voice cracked again. “The same as you. I thought—if these people are helping—if you are helping—maybe you’d know something.”
“If you wanted answers, you could have approached us directly,” Duke growled. “Hiding in the back like that only raises suspicion.”
“I wasn’t hiding!” Colin snapped, then deflated. “Okay—maybe I was watching from a distance. But that’s it. I didn’t touch the lights. I didn’t hurt anyone. I just—needed to see you. Needed to know you were actually doing something.”
Duke loosened his grip slightly but kept his stance solid. “Colin, if anything you’re telling us doesn’t check out, we’re going to find out fast.”
Colin nodded quickly. “I understand. I swear—I had nothing to do with this.”
Behind them, the muffled sound of applause swelled again as Hostess Rebecca tried to pass the time by bantering with the audience.
Duke took a slow breath.
Colin was circling the fire.
And circling fires got people burned.
Duke stepped back just enough to let the air between them shift—from confrontation to warning.
“Stay visible,” he barked. “No more sneaking around. If you learn anything—anything at all—you come to us. Don’t lurk in the shadows.”
Colin nodded again, clearly shaken. “Okay.”
Duke released him.
As Colin slipped back into the crowd, Duke’s gaze followed.
That power outage wasn’t random.
And Colin Hoffman might not be the threat.
But he was still their number one suspect right now.