Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“I need a favor.”
Knox’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why do I feel like this is not going to be a normal request?” He caught the black box Luke tossed his way and flipped it open. “I need you to find someone to put a tracker in there.”
“For Dr. Whitmore?”
“Yes.”
Knox shook his head. “Davenport will never agree to cover this. The expense to keep tabs on her 24/7 will be astronomical.”
“He won’t have to. It’s coming out of my pocket.”
He snapped the box closed and leaned his elbows on his desk. “Tell me what you know.”
Luke settled into the chair across from him and relayed the story. “So, I fixed it up to surprise her. That should be incentive enough for her to keep it on at all times so, on the off chance that I’m not with her, we can keep tabs on her.”
“If you’re already in her bed then there’s no reason to risk this expense. You know it’s not going to be cheap,” Knox warned.
Luke shook his head. “I don’t care. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe. Hannah’s friend was attacked in her own office. Unless Davenport extends the contract, which I seriously doubt, I won’t be able to watch over her all the time, and I need to make sure she’s okay.”
Knox studied him for a moment. “Two of the new guys just got in a couple days ago. Let me go introduce you, and we’ll have them get you squared away.”
“Thanks, man, I appreciate it. For real.”
Knox lifted a brow. “Ugh. You find a woman and get all soft. Get out of here with that.”
Luke let out a laugh. “Just wait. Some chick’s gonna come along and blindside you one of these days.”
Knox shuddered in mock horror, though shadows entered his eyes. His tone was hard when he spoke. “That won’t happen.”
Luke sobered, immediately regretting his words. Knox had been through the emotional wringer when he was younger and had his heart ripped out by his childhood sweetheart. Ever since Luke had known him, Knox had stayed away from women as much as possible.
He wasn’t a saint by any means, but Luke had a feeling he was still deeply in love with his ex. Knox kept every emotion and thought under lock and key, sharing only necessary details. Luke wondered if anyone would ever learn the real story.
He clapped a hand on Knox’s shoulder. “Introduce me to the newbies. I fully expect to see them in those heinous shirts you bought.”
A feral grin lit Knox’s face. “I’m not sure who complained more, you or them.”
Luke followed him out of the office and into the bullpen. “That’s because they’re terrible.”
Knox chuckled and shrugged good-naturedly. “Just testing your loyalty.”
Luke rolled his eyes as Knox punched his code into the keypad and the door unlocked, emitting a low beep as it granted access to its inner sanctum.
A dozen or so cubicles were set up in the middle of the room, divided by low gray walls to give a semblance of privacy.
Two men occupied the front two cubes, and they looked up as they entered.
Knox lifted a hand. “Guys, I want to introduce you to Lucas Stone.”
“Call me Luke, please.” Luke stepped forward as both men rose to their feet and extended their hands almost simultaneously. He shook and allowed Knox to make introductions.
“This is Roman Incardona, Ink for short.” Not quite as tall as Luke, Roman was stocky with a muscular build, tattooed sleeves running down both arms. Luke wasn’t sure if Ink was short for Incardona or for the colorful images covering a good portion of the man’s body, but the nickname was appropriate regardless. He nodded a greeting.
“And this,” Knox continued, gesturing to the second man, “is Aiden Taylor. Stole him from the bureau. He’s the man you need.”
Aiden’s gaze flicked toward Luke. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“Just Luke.” He nodded in acknowledgment and Luke handed over the box. “I need you to put a tracking device into my girlfriend’s necklace.”
Saying the words aloud sounded creepy as hell, but Aiden tipped his chin like the request wasn’t at all out of the ordinary. He pulled the locket out and examined the interior compartment of the golden oval. “Are you putting pictures in here?”
“Yeah. I’m working on that right now, so whatever you’re using will be concealed.”
Luke glanced at his watch. His lunch break was almost over, but fortunately he was just a few blocks from the health center. The jeweler had called that morning to let him know the necklace was ready, and he’d rushed over to pick it up. He wanted to give it to her as soon as possible.
He’d coerced Detective Sanchez into releasing it, briefly explaining his plan after Hannah’s house had been broken into.
He’d been surprisingly cooperative once Luke assured him that he had no intention of interfering with the investigation.
He merely wanted what was best for Hannah, and he’d help in any way he could.
Hannah was under the impression that Sanchez had kept it for evidence, so she would be none the wiser until Luke surprised her with it. The jeweler had soldered the bail on the locket, and it now hung from the new gold chain Luke had purchased.
His plan was to put pictures of both Selah and Hannah inside the locket.
Now he just had to find them. Social media was just getting off the ground back in those days, so the quality of the photos online was pretty poor.
The local newspaper had printed a picture of the beautiful blonde after her death, but that too was grainy and unclear.
Luke couldn’t reach out directly to either Hannah or Selah’s parents without jeopardizing the case, so he was left to his own devices.
He’d come across their high school yearbook on the school’s website and had put in a request to the school’s principal, telling the woman that his security firm was looking into the cold case, but needed a copy of the photo, preferably digital, if they had one.
He’d explained that he didn’t want to contact the family and get their hopes up and left his contact information. He’d yet to hear anything back, but it’d only been a couple of days.
“Give me a day or two to get what I need.” Aiden flicked a look Luke’s way. “You know these aren’t fool-proof, right? Even active, it will only alert us to the general vicinity.”
“Anything is better than nothing. Will you keep it active all the time?”
“That’s up to you.” He shrugged. “I can run perpetual radar on it, or I can activate it if anything goes down. That’ll be a lot cheaper.”
Luke hated the thought of not being able to find her. “Can you hack the system and trace her phone, if necessary?”
The other man raised a brow. “Probably. That’s a little more complex, though, and gives about the same results. Tracker will generally place you within a few hundred yards or so.”
Luke scowled. “That’s hardly accurate.”
“No, it’s not.” He shook his head. “But unless you’re working with the Feds and have access to their system, this is what we have to work with.”
“Well, just put it in the necklace as a safeguard and we’ll activate it if we need to.” Luke turned back to Knox. “I’ve gotta get back over there. Raúl’s holding down the fort, but Hannah should be finishing up soon and I want to make sure I’m there.”
Knox tipped his head toward the door. “Come on.”
Luke gestured at the still-empty receptionist’s desk. “When does Vivi start?”
“Two weeks. I’m flying out for her graduation this weekend, then we’ll drive back. I’m helping her move all her stuff down, so I’ll be out for a few days. I’ll need you to be my backup while I’m gone.”
“No problem.”
Knox shoved his hands in his pockets. “You’re sure you know what you’re doing?”
Luke stiffened. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure she's safe, regardless of the cost.”
Knox waved him off. “No, I mean… I understand. Just be careful.”
Again, Luke wondered about Knox’s history and the woman who obviously still had the man tied up in knots. Choosing not to press, he just nodded. “I will.”
Hannah was Luke’s now, and he would do anything for her.