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“We’ll keep it quiet, Dec. But any more bodies, we have to tell the guys.”

“Any more bodies and we will officially have a serial killer.” Dec sounded defeated.

“Does that mean bringing in the Feds?” King asked.

“It is at my discretion. I won’t bring them in unless I absolutely need them.”

Dec didn’t want the Feds here any more than the rest of us did. He had his own way of doing things and didn’t want some stuffed shirt nosing their way in and fucking up his investigation.

Chapter Eighteen

Melissa

February 7, 2025, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

It had been fifteen days.

Fifteen days since I had heard from Dante. Fifteen days since I had decided to disappear with Dani. Fifteen days since I had referred every patient I had to other doctors and therapists. Fifteen days since I had decided to sell my practice.

I had waited long enough.

The wait was over. I didn’t know what had happened. Were they alive? Had the table found Danny? Had Dante gotten in the way and forced them both to leave their daughter an orphan?

Four days ago, I received a note in my mailbox at the office. It hadn’t come through the postal service. There was no stamp. No return address. It had been shoved through the crack, falling to the ground when I opened the box. I would have missed it had Dani not been standing at my feet.

She picked it up and held it for me. When I opened the note and read the words, I wasn’t sure what to think. It wasn’t threatening in its definition. Just three simple words.

I love her!

I looked through the glass doors to the sidewalk outside and wondered if the note was from Dante. Had he been compromised and unable to use the phone? But then how would he get a note to me? If he was here, why not just show himself?

Unless he was followed.

He must believe it wasn’t safe to bring attention to Dani. Crumbling the note into my pocket, I lifted Dani, settling her on my hip as I grabbed the rest of the mail to explore upstairs in my office.

Entering my office, nothing looked disturbed. Everything was in its place, but something felt off. Without any evidence to the contrary, I was forced to go on about my day, meeting with my sessions while Dani played in the background.

Two days later, there was another note. Again, stuffed through the crack of the mailbox. Like the first one, it wasn’t threatening in nature, given the circumstances surrounding my life at the moment.

This one also felt like maybe it was Dante trying to contact me. Assuring me Dani was safe. That we were being watched over. Could I take the chance that I was wrong?

I miss her!

Picking up Dani, I walked to the large glass doors that led outside. Looking through the panes, I assessed the world around us. There didn’t appear to be anyone sinister lurking around the corner. No men in trench coats hiding a gun that would then be used to force Dani and I into a vehicle.

My imagination was getting away from me. Dante had told me Danny thought of and planned for every contingency. Surely, he would have made other arrangements to get word to me if something happened.

Dani and I made our way upstairs and when I walked into my office, I knew something was different. Dani wiggled to get down and play, but I held her tight against me. Until I figured out what was different, I refused to take a chance with Dani’s life.

For thirty minutes I walked around my office, trying to see anything out of place. Everything was where it should be. But the hair on the back of my neck stood up.

The knock on my door caused me to scream and squeeze Dani tight. Turning around, Detective Henderson stood in my doorway.

“I apologize, Miss Jefferson. I did not intend to frighten you.”

“It is Dr. Jefferson, Detective. What are you doing here?”

I shifted Dani onto my hip, once again preventing her from standing on her own. My last interaction with the detective hadn’t been pleasant, and I was convinced this one wouldn’t go much different. Dani had become a security blanket of my own. I found it easy to keep my temper in check when she was in my arms.