27. Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Rhett
I ’m going to slit this man’s throat. FBI agent or not, he lost Zel, and now none of us can find her and warn her how close the killer is to her. I’m already getting frustrated with Easton. First, he takes Zel out on a date, which enrages me, and then he loses her. If Easton hadn’t taken her out, she wouldn’t have been kidnapped.
Agent Cooper is already on the phone. He wasted no time. As soon as Easton recognized the person in the picture, he snatched his phone back and started making calls.
“We need his name now! Find out where he lives, his place of employment, everything and anything. I want to know every last detail about this guy,” he shouts into the phone.
He faces Easton. “Go help the officers. See if there are any details you can pick up that might help us close this case faster.” It sounds like what he truly wanted to say was that he wants to find this suspect before he kidnaps Zel—if it hasn’t already happened.
“I’m calling Radnor. The rest of you go back to what you were doing.” Everyone slowly goes back to their tasks before Agent Cooper calls them over to see the sketch of the killer.
“Have you left yet?” He waits for an answer. “Okay, good. I need you to check out Eclipse Noir and the surrounding area. Easton recognized the sketch, and that was the guy who was talking to Zel at the bar. Let me know if you find anything.”
He pauses for a moment before answering.
“I can’t track her phone since it’s been turned off. The last place it was tracked was a couple blocks from the club.” I look back at Killian. We share the same look. If we only knew then what we know now, we would have stayed until we found her.
A woman comes up to Cooper. “Sorry I’m late. I had pack business to attend to,” she says as she stares at the body on the floor, her eyes filling with a look of sorrow. “I hoped we’d be able to avoid another murder.”
“Agent Rodriguez, I understand. We have a face now. Radnor was able to get a clear picture. He coaxed out the truths from the lies and finally was able to get Trisha to give him details on the guy.”
Her eyes swing back to his in surprise and brighten with hope. He looks at his phone, probably trying to open up his messages before giving it to her.
“So, this is him,” she muses out loud.
“He’s not a supernatural,” Agent Cooper says as he grabs his phone back.
“How do you know?” Agent Rodriguez pulls out her notepad and walks toward the body. She looks to be taking notes about the scene.
Cooper faces us. “They’re the ones who told me.”
Her eyes swing over, assessing us, making sure we aren’t the real threat. She gazes back at Cooper. “Do we have any other info?” she asks, her expression hopeful.
“I’ve already called Milo. His team is on it.” With that, Agent Cooper walks away from the body, leaving Agent Rodriguez with the forensic team.
He walks over to the corner of the living room to make a call. I have a feeling he’s trying to reach Zel. He may act like he doesn’t care for her, but the way he snatched his phone and keeps pulling his hair says otherwise. I leave him alone for now.
My instinct to protect Zel is going wild, and judging by the way Killian paces back and forth, I know he’s feeling the same frustration. There’s another dead supernatural woman on the floor. Is Zel going to be next? She’s defenseless. Her shifter abilities are non-existent. Killian and I must find a way to protect her.
I grab my phone from my pocket. I don’t bother messaging our tech team. The FBI has one of the best around, and they’ll be able to find the information we’re looking for in a few minutes.
Rhett: I hope you’re able to read this message. Run from the guy that was with you at the bar. He’s the killer. If you get the chance, call me. I’ll come find you.
I wait a minute to see if maybe she’ll message me back but get nothing. I put it back in my pocket, making sure the ringer is set on the loudest setting. I’m beyond frustrated now. I look outside the door and spot Easton. I glance at Killian. A woman has come up to him, but he ignores her. She’s looking to get attention, but he doesn’t notice her at all. I would help him, but right now I want to strangle Easton. I head toward the door, but the next words I hear stop me.
“I got an address!” Cooper shouts. Killian and I walk back toward him, almost tackling him with how fast we showed up as soon as he said those words. “It’s a rental house he’s been staying at. He doesn’t live in the state, but we have records of him moving here five months before the killings started.”
“Let’s go,” Agent Rodriguez says, standing next to Agent Cooper.
“We’re coming too,” Killian says, and I nod my head in agreement.
“I’ll message you the address,” Agent Cooper says, and a moment later we both get a ping. I don’t question how he got our numbers. He probably used his techs, the same way we found his and Zel’s numbers. It was easy to find Zel’s since she’s using his account.
We sprint to our cars and get in. I get on the driver’s side while Killian gets on the passenger side and adds the address to the navigation system.
“We’re thirty minutes out,” Killian announces.
“It’s going to take us a while to get there,” I huff in frustration, then I hear the sirens in Agent Cooper’s black SUV. “Never mind. We’ll follow him.”
Agent Cooper is flying around cars like he’s driving in a video game and not real life. He speeds through red lights and around traffic. Thankfully, it’s early in the morning and the weekend, so not very many cars are out yet. We make it to our destination in twenty minutes. He turns off his sirens when we’re a mile out. More cars are behind me, and I know it’s the rest of the agents. We drive slower, paying attention to the speed limit.
The house is at the end of a residential area. Agent Cooper stops his vehicle, so I do too. He gets out and someone runs to him, giving him a bulletproof vest, a flashlight, an M-16, and a helmet. We get out of the car and walk toward him.
“Here you go,” someone says, handing Killian and me the same gear Agent Cooper and Agent Rodriguez were handed, except for the weapon. Fine by us; we don’t need them anyway.
“Wait, no gun?” Killian mocks in fake hurt. “Not to worry, we have special talents.” He winks at the woman, and her cheeks redden before she turns around quickly.
We put on the gear as the rest of the agents huddle around us. “The suspect’s name is Zack Miller. Agent Rodriguez and I will walk in there first.”
“We’re following behind you,” I interrupt. I need to make sure Zel is still alive. I really hope we don’t find her at this place.
“I don’t think that’s such—” Agent Rodriguez starts.
“We’ve been trained,” Killian bites back, cutting her off. He’s just as on edge as I am. We never said a single word to each other on the way here.
“Fine,” Agent Cooper agrees.
“Agent Cooper, they haven’t been trained.” Agent Rodriguez throws worried glances at us.
“I’ve gotten a taste of what they can do. You’ll have each other’s backs, right?” Agent Cooper looks each of us in the eye, and I can feel their whole unit turn to look at us.
“Of course we will, pretty boy.”
Agent Cooper rolls his eyes and then looks back at his team. He continues to talk, and I feel like we’re wasting so much time. He arranges people in order, and I stare at the house, hoping Zel is still alive.
“We don’t kill Zack,” Agent Cooper announces.
I snort, he narrows his eyes on me but looks away. If he has Zel in there, I can’t promise I won’t murder him. We assemble into our spots. Agents Cooper and Rodriguez walk to the front door, and we follow behind them. I hear two sets of footsteps behind me. I don’t turn around to see who they belong to.
“FBI Supernatural Unit, open up.” He bangs on the door loudly. I expect a witch to come and unlock it. What I don’t expect is Agent Cooper to lift his foot up and kick the door with full force, breaking the hinges clean off the door. The wood cracks in the middle.
“That’s one way to do it.” Killian chuckles beside me. Both agents lift their weapons. We walk from the living room to the kitchen. Everything is neat and tidy like no one’s been living here for a long time.
We walk past the living room toward the only bedroom in the house. Agent Cooper tries the doorknob, but it’s locked. He opens it up the same way he did with the front door.
There’s no bed or clothing to indicate someone’s been living here. What we do notice in big red letters is a taunt. You won’t find Zelyah.
My breath catches in my throat. Panic rises as I picture her trapped with that sadistic creep.
The killer slipped right through our fingers. We’ve lost the only chance we had to capture him, and there’s no other way to track him now.