Page 34 of A Midnight Romance

River

S tanding outside a coffee shop in downtown Seattle, I’m waiting for Lux to grab an iced latte. Even though Ben could have made her any type of coffee beverage she wanted, she insisted on coming here.

I lean against the wall, letting my eyes continuously scan the surroundings watching for a suspicious person, while also attempting to maintain a low profile.

My gaze eventually lands on a man standing under a tree in a dark corner of a high school lot, watching over what seems to be a girls’ soccer team practicing on the grass.

I quickly dismiss my paranoia, thinking he’s a parent, until I find a group of adults scattered on the metal bleachers across the field.

I look over at the man again, and this time more of his face comes into view, and I’m surprised at how familiar he looks.

An unsettling inkling settles inside my chest, so I step over to my car to pull out a pair of the TI smart glasses prototype to get a better look at him.

I slide them on and return to the same spot against the wall. With a light tap to the frame, the glasses allows me to zoom in to get a clearer view.

Struggling to place him, I slide my phone out and quickly swipe to the list Sebastian and I keep for future subjects of our nightly projects. With a quick search, I find a copy of his mugshot.

“Fester Harrow,” I mumble .

Authorities charged him with raping his girlfriend’s teenage daughter, but he got off two years ago on a technicality. Assuming he left the state since we had lost track of him for some time, we moved on to other targets still in the area.

But in my experience, it’s not common for them to change their behaviors. Which would explain why he is lurking under a tree close to a high school campus.

“Feeling a little bold, Fester?” I mutter.

Glancing down the street, I make a note of how close we are to the police station. Over the last month, I’ve mainly focused on Lux and bringing down Andrew and his crew, which means I’ve neglected any other personal projects.

My focus on Lux and her kills has caused me to neglect the monster inside me. Since I haven’t had any kills of my own, it stirs violently inside its cage and will not allow me to push it aside much longer.

Before I can act on it, Lux is at my side with two coffees in hand and a smile on her face. “Okay, I’m ready.”

I’ll get him next time.

Pushing any thoughts of Fester aside, I bend down to kiss her forehead.

“Perfect, I’ll be right behind you.”

Lux flips her head up to slide her sunglasses down with no hands. “I know you will.”

God, she is so fucking adorable.

For a moment I forget about the predator across the street, and it is not until Lux is safely in her car and we’re driving past the high school, that my desire to kill intensifies again. It’s pricking at my back and getting harder to ignore .

Lux turns onto a side road leading to the back of the building, where the back entrance to most of the offices are located.

I asked her to park in the lot’s corner to not draw too much attention to it for anyone around.

And that is what she does, pulling int a secluded area.

With a coffee in each hand, she cocks a hip to close the car door, then turns back to glance at me one more time before ascending the steps into the rear entrance of the building.

Flicking off the engine, I am determined to push killing Fester from my head. I need a distraction, but my usual distraction is currently unavailable .

I twist my neck, cracking it a few times to get comfortable in my seat, and for what feels like hours—but has only been thirty minutes—my eyes bore into the old brick building.

Between the intrusive thoughts of darkness and my skin crawling with an anxiousness, I am on the verge of losing the fight.

He shouldn’t be anywhere near a school .

What if that’s where the ex-girlfriend’s daughter attends?

The incessant inch propelling up my back while flashes of Fester standing outside of the high school, searching for a victim, overcome my vision.

Oh, fuck it .

I am a controlled man, but also an impetuous one. I give in, jerking on the ignition to start the car. It would take me no time to grab him and give him a little strangle and be on my way back to the police station—with time to spare.

My fingers tense with anticipation as I turn the steering wheel onto the side road, leading back toward the downtown high school.

Before long, I’m pulling up to the side of a home with a For Sale sign on the opposite side of the high school back lot.

I immediately spot Fester, still lurking in the shadows beneath a large tree, his disguise anything but appropriate as he’s dressed oddly in tan colored clothes.

Of course he’s still there. He’s on the prowl, stalking his next victim.

Sliding a baseball cap onto my head and flipping up my black hoodie, I then reach into the back to grab a syringe from my bag, preparing to give him a quick injection.

I get everything ready, then leave the car.

I tuck both hands in the front pockets of my sweater while scanning the perimeter of the forest and parking lot.

As I get closer to Fester, I notice he’s still standing in a shaded and secluded part of the park.

As soon as I see there’s no one else around, I break out into a slow jog with my feet barely contacting the ground.

Reaching for what I need, I take the syringe from my hoodie pocket and pop off the cap, then approach him from behind.

“Hey,” I say in a low voice, getting his attention.

As he turns, I jam the needle into the side of his neck. Dazed, he stumbles back unstable on his feet, and I hook an arm around his neck, bracing his fall to the ground, then flip him against the side of the car. Only a few seconds later, his limbs go limp.

“You’re just going to take a little nap.” With hesitation, I slightly release my hold and deadlift him into the back seat of his car.

After a quick search of his pockets, I find his keys to the car.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, I head to an older part of the high school.

Growing up around here, I’ve gotten used to many areas downtown.

Built in the 1980s, many of the buildings are no longer used or abandoned, making it the perfect place to carry out this solo project.

I drive the car into a shaded area full of overgrown bushes, and a quick glance confirms the area is hidden enough for us to remain unseen for a while.

I slide Fester’s limp body from the backseat and wearily carry him to the door.

With a swift kick, the rotted wood swings open.

I walk past a devotion of love carved into the wooden wall, which will only last until the school finally tears this building down.

I spot an open area in the corner of the room. Dropping Fester onto the concrete, the sound of bones hitting the floor fills the air. The impact to his back wakes him earlier than I’m expecting.

I reach for the handcuffs in my bag, then kneel to bind him to a long pipe protruding from the ceiling. Once secure, his eyes peel open.

“Hello.” I smile. While crouching down beside him, my body buzzes with excitement. “Sorry you had to wake up like this.”

“What is going on?” he slurs, his eyes darting around the rundown shack. When he realizes that he’s chained and I’m holding a gun, he shouts, “Who the fuck are you? Let me go!”

“Oh, sorry about that, Fester. Where are my manners?” I extend my arm for him to shake it. “I’m River.”

He jerks at the metal cuffs. “How the hell do you know my name?”

“I followed your case two years ago.” I rise to standing. “Quite the situation you got yourself in. She was only a kid.”

“The little bitch who said I took advantage of her?” he spits. “She came onto me.”

“She was fifteen, you sick fuck.”

“Not when she looked like that,” he spits.

“I rub my chin then squat next to him. “Wasn’t she drugged too?”

He clicks his tongue, possibly getting agitated. “What do you want?”

“For you not to hurt anyone else.”

“So how would you make that happen? Are you some type of rogue cop or something?”

“Oh god, no.” I shake my head. “I’m far from being a cop.”

“Then what the fuck do you want?” He’s growing angry. “Why am I here? ”

I rub the back of my neck. “Well, you see Fester…” I lower myself to face him once again. “I haven’t been able to take part in my extracurricular activities lately, which is making me a little restless. And lucky for you, my friend, you have the honor of fulfilling that need today.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I make sure guys like you never hurt anyone again,” I tell him.

“And how the hell do you do that?’

I let a devilish smirk transform my face, enjoying the feeling of it. “How do you think? I know you saw the gun,” I say, then remove the firearm from my waistband.

“You’re going to shoot me?” Panic laces his tone. “Help!” he screams as he bangs the metal cuffs onto the pipe.

In one swift motion, I slipped behind him, both arms wrapped around his neck with my hands pressed into the top of his head and chin. Preparing to break his neck, I lean into his body thrashing underneath me.

My arm tightens around his neck. I take the barrel of my gun and bring it to his temple. “Say good night, Fester.”

And after one last muffled scream, I pull the trigger. The silencer mutes the shot and then Fester’s body is deadweight in my arms.

Relief washes over me. Like a runner’s high, my body tingles with adrenaline. And with a heavy inhale, I sit on the dirty ground and bask in a moment of pure release.

Then my phone vibrates in my front pocket.

“Stevie can’t get a hold of Lux,” Sebastian tells me before I have the chance to say hello.

I clear my throat. “What?”

“Lux’s not answering her phone.”

I step over Fester’s lifeless body. “What do you mean? ”

“Are you with her?” An urgency in his voice has my hair standing on end.

“She’s at the police station with her dad.”

“Their dad told Stevie she left a half hour ago,” he rushes out.

“What do you mean a half hour ago?” I look down at my watch and realized it’s been just under two hours since I dropped her off.

My insides twist as panic seizes hold of my body. It takes every ounce of self-control not to run out of the building because I don’t want to make a scene. So I walk with purpose back toward Fester’s car, then take it back to park in the original spot. Then, finally I’m sliding into mine.

What the fuck did I do? I told her I’d always protect her and I let my impulsiveness get in the way of her safety.

“I need you to send a cleaning crew to the location I’m about to send you.” Immediately I flip the engine on.

“Why?”

“I took care of our old friend Fester Harrow.” I don’t say anything more and end the call.

While peeling out of the parking lot, I swipe into the tracker app. My heart sinks when I see Lux’s car is still in the back parking lot of the police station.

“Fuck!” I scream. I white knuckle my steering wheel, pain and fear coursing through my veins.

How could I have left her alone?

In a frenzy, I call Sebastian again. “Are you sure her dad doesn’t know she’s missing?”

“No. As far as he knows, everything is fine.”

“Okay good.” I hang up again and call Hayden.

“River,” he answers right away like always. “What’s up? ”

“Hayden, I need you to find Lux. I dropped her off at the police station downtown to visit with her dad, around nine a.m. this morning. It’s eleven now, and her sister said she left a half hour ago, but my tracker shows her car and phone still there.

Get into the surveillance system and see what you can find. ”

“Lux is missing? What happened?” His panicked tone does nothing for my growing anger.

“I’ll call you back.” I drive into the parking lot and skid to a halt. Jumping out of my car, I run over to Lux’s car faster than my feet can carry me. Her door is ajar and her purse is lying on the passenger seat which means she made it back, but never got in.

Fuck!

I asked her to park in a more secluded part of the lot, the one shared with another government building so I could hang out in my car without being noticed, but I never thought it could work in someone else’s favor.

I fucking left her. This is all my fault.

My hands come up to my head, twisting at all angles as my eyes dart around the area with fear as I search for something—anything that might give me a clue to what the hell happened.

A call from an unknown number comes through, causing my stomach to drop and stopping me in my tracks.

“Hello?” I answer, flatly.

“River, River,” Andrew bitterly chides me.

My back straightens at the sound of his voice. Anger turns into rage, and I instantly know he has something to do with this. “Where is she?” I demand.

“Oh, the lieutenant’s daughter?” He plays darkly. “I have her. Put up a bit of a fight, but she eventually gave in.”

Rage .

“If you fucking touch—”

“Shut the hell up!” he shouts.

My jaw clenches as I climb back into my car, then circle in the parking lot, searching every tree, van, and car for any sign of where they could be.

“She’s mine! I found her first. You can imagine how pissed I was when I saw you sitting outside her house every night.

I thought you wanted her for yourself, and was just trying to do something with her beyond me and the guys, but boy, was I wrong.

You were doing something completely different, weren’t you? ”

If he saw me outside of her house, that means he was trailing her after I rescued her from the cabin.

“I will find you, and I will crush your fucking windpipe before I kill you, making you suffer for ever putting your hands on her.”

“Maybe.” He enjoys this sick game.

“Where the hell did you take her!?” I scream inside the confines of my car. The volume of my voice vibrates the windows.

“I’m at one of my properties,” he says.

My eyes blur, as the world around turns red. “Is this some sort of clue? You think this is a game?”

“I quite like games. Don’t you?” He chuckles.

“I’m going to fucking kill you if you touch her,” I threaten, ignoring his question.

“That’s a shame. But River, when you find where I am, I suggest you come alone or I’m blowing her pretty face off.” He ends the call before I get a chance to say anything.

“FUCK!” I yell, but quickly pull myself together to call Sebastian.

I need to find Lux now and every minute I’m not level-headed is one more that she’s stuck with Andrew .

“Andrew took Lux. I need that list of Andrew’s properties,” I demand, the wheels screeching over the street as I haul out of the parking lot and rush home.