Page 21

21

STONE

I sent Grey and the rest of the team the location of the rental, and they arrived promptly at 7:00 the next morning.

The second Grey walked inside, I showed him the box, and he had another agent, Corson, tag it for evidence. The sheriff’s office showed up shortly after to mark the rental a crime scene.

For Len’s sake, I lied and said I found the box early in the morning, right before they all arrived.

Another agent, Alexir, asked Len a few questions while I stood close by and listened.

She stuck to everything I told her to say, which bought me time to explain everything to Grey.

“Stone,” Grey called out, motioning for me to follow him into the dining room.

I knew what was coming—time had finally run out, and I needed to come clean. I’d run over the possibilities in my head a million times. The only one that made logical sense was telling him everything. We needed his resources, and I couldn’t make an arrest without the FBI. Even if it meant sharing Len’s secret, I knew it was the best choice. I still made sure she was alright with it the second we woke in the morning. If it wasn’t what she wanted, I’d never force her into it. It was not my secret to share.

She agreed, even though I saw the fear that came with it, but she knew in the end, it was the only way to keep the town safe.

“What is this?” he asked and motioned to the wall I’d been building the case on.

I swallowed hard before sharing everything with him.

It’d been fifteen minutes of Grey laying into me. I’d fully expected it, but hearing him as livid as I knew he’d be was a horrible feeling. I swallowed hard as he sucked in a breath, ready to continue with every reason I’d messed up.

“You involved a civilian on an investigation I specifically told you to leave alone?” Grey shouted.

The house was not very large, and there weren’t many rooms Len could be in where she wouldn’t hear the scolding. A twang of guilt rushed through me, wishing I’d sent her somewhere else for this.

“We can do good here,” I said. “I was useless at Quantico. Here, I’m actually helping, finding a killer we couldn’t find the first time.”

Grey crossed his arms, and his lips remained thin. “You weren’t cleared to be in the field. I gave you orders. I risked my own badge to vouch for you. Your talent shouldn’t be wasted, but I can’t have you in the field if you are going to continue to be this reckless.”

I nodded. He was right. Ever since that one decision that cost Blythe her life, I barely recognized myself.

I used to follow every rule. I’d memorized them, made sure to implement every protocol the FBI had. They were there for a reason. It was how we saved lives.

Now, I’d become impulsive. Len clouded my judgement, and it was hard to stay impartial, to follow those same rules when it came to her.

“You directly disobeyed my order. This was reckless. You could’ve gotten her hurt. Not only that, but your presence emboldened the Coastal Killer to start again.”

“They would’ve eventually killed more, and we both know it. Something set them off, and if it wasn’t me, it could’ve been anything. It was bound to happen, and I’m glad I was here to step in when it did.”

I felt his eyes boring into me. My decision may have been reckless, but it was right. If we had a chance to finally bring this town peace, there was no reason we shouldn’t have taken it.

“It doesn’t matter now. We’re here because of you, regardless of how asinine your actions may have been. I want you to brief me on everything you have.”

Everything I had…

I knew I had to tell him, but everything in me dreaded it. I gestured toward the wall behind him. “This is everything I’ve gathered so far. We eliminated a few initial suspects, but Ethan, the bus boy at the High Tide Pub, seems most likely. I have a way to confirm it, but I need to pull footage from the tapes we took into evidence three years ago from the pub.”

“What are we looking for?” Grey asked. Though I could tell he was still livid with me, he put that aside for the sake of the case. That’s what made him a great supervisory agent: he was able to put aside his emotions to get the job done at the end of the day.

I knew this wouldn’t excuse me, and I’d still face disciplinary action when I returned to Quantico, but I didn’t care. If it kept Len safe, it was worth it.

“The night Jane Doe was attacked. We need to go back through the footage for that night.”

“We’ve tried. There are far too many woman in that tape to identify who she is. She was mutilated when we found her. We could barely recognize her or match her with anyone from that footage. Her face was far too swollen when she arrived to the hospital and then vanished.”

“But I know who she is now,” I admitted.

Grey stared at me for a moment, taking in every word I’d said. His eyes seemed to shift beyond me to the doorway, and I knew he’d already pieced it together.

“No,” Grey said. “Stone, I know you are not this oblivious.”

“It was the only way,” I said. “She had information. She’s been working on this the last three years and gave me more than I had before. I was able to walk her through that night, and I have a way for us to confirm who attacked her.”

“How?” Grey gritted through his teeth.

“Someone drugged her with something that wouldn’t have shown up on a toxicology report. Something that went quickly through her system and wasn’t initially tested for. If we watch that footage to see who drugged her drink, we’d know who attacked her. I’m willing to bet it was Ethan.”

Grey stared at me for a moment, fury building in his eyes. I knew this would cost me my badge, but I didn’t care.

“I’ll call Mags to pull the footage. We’ll deal with this after we make an arrest. I need your mind still on this.”

I nodded.

Grey started to walk out of the room, but he turned one last time. “I hope she’s worth this Stone.”

I never felt more confident of an answer.

“She is,” I whispered under my breath.

* * *

Grey returned shortly after, letting me know Mags was already diving into the footage. Len hadn’t reappeared, but I imagined she was doing her best to avoid the agents and deputies swarming the house.

My stomach twisted with guilt, knowing this was her worst nightmare. Everything she’d run from had just showed up on the front porch.

It only took an hour before Grey’s phone rang. He answered and turned on the speaker, Mag’s voice immediately coming through the phone.

“You were right,” she said. Her voice sounded shaken. “I went through all the footage from that night, focusing on Len. Approximately fifteen minutes before she leaves, Ethan very clearly slips something into her drink. I’m sending it to you now.”

I opened my laptop on the dining room table and found the video clip already waiting for me. Grey moved to watch beside me. The second I clicked play, I spotted Ethan hovering near where the drink sat on the bar. It was ever so slight, hard to miss. His hand slipped over her drink, dropping something in, and then he hurried away to clear empty glasses from the counter.

My stomach turned at the sight. Knowing what came next made it all the more horrifying to watch and confirm. Len had been right. She was drugged before she was attacked.

“Thank you, Mags,” Agent Grey said. “I’ll let you know if we need anything else.”

He hung up and turned to me. “I need everything you have on him,” he ordered. “If he is the Coastal Killer, I don’t want him slipping through our fingers this time.”

I hurried over to the wall, pulling down everything linking Ethan to the killings. I turned over all of it to Grey.“He fits the working profile.” I showed him the blown up picture of a man about the same stature as Ethan wearing the hoodie with keys to the pub hanging out of their pocket. “Whoever left a threat at Len’s door is linked to the pub.”

“This is all circumstantial at best,” Grey said.

“But now we have the footage,” I pointed out. “Len also received threats via text and a call. I’ll forward Mags the number and see what she can get from it.”

“What about the latest victim?” Grey asked. “Do you have anything linking him to her?”

“I don’t have any of the information on her yet, but if you give me everything you have, I will find something.”

He typed something into his phone andgathered the papers I’d given them before walking toward the door. “Mags is forwarding you everything we know. Call me the second you have something.”

I saw that Mags was already sending over information. A report with the woman’s name popped up—like all the others, she was engaged.

One of the cats jumped into my lap, and I looked down to find Alonzo curling up. I’d given up on keeping them away in any capacity. They were starting to grow on me, honestly.

“It’s Ethan?” Len said, standing in the kitchen doorway, startling me.

I cast a sympathetic look toward her. “How long have you been there?”

“Long enough.”

“You know you’re not supposed to be tangled up in this anymore,” I said. “It’s for your own protection.”

“You didn’t tell me any of this. I heard it myself,” she noted. “Grey can’t be angry when I heard it from his own mouth.”She crossed her arms.

A warm chuckle escaped my mouth. Clever as always.

Seriously, was I going to let this girl go?

The memory of her birthday ran through my mind, the way it felt to kiss her finally.

I pushed it away. I couldn’t lose focus. I needed to do whatever it took to keep her safe.

“Seriously, Len,” I said.

“I know,” she sighed. “I just still can’t shake the feeling he’s not the one who attacked me.”

I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help it. I pulled out the chair next to me for her to join. The same video I watched played when she sat down. Her eyes widened, watching the screen as she saw the same thing I did: Ethan dropping something in her drink.

“I know it’s hard to watch, but we need this to arrest him. He was definitely there that night. It’s likely the side effects from whatever he used that left your memory hazy,” I explained gently.

I did believe her, but the video itself couldn’t lie. Ethan was involved in this.

She nodded and stood. As she did, she pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek, and I felt my skin warm at the contact.

“I’m going to go up and read for a little, since it’s getting late,” she said.

“I’ll be up soon,” I promised.

I hadn’t missed a single night in the bed with her since that first time. We slept inches from each other, our presence enough to keep each other safe from the nightmares. She left the room, and I turned back to the laptop. I was desperate to find anything to connect Ethan to the most recent victim. I wouldn’t stop looking until I did.

* * *

I climbed in to bed with Len after a few hours of still finding nothing. She was turned away, reading the book I gave her. I tried not to disrupt her, but she closed the book and turned around, her brown eyes meeting mine.

“My family will be back in town soon,” she said.

“For the clambake?” I inferred.

She nodded her head. “It will be the first I’ve seen them since leaving the dinner, besides Calvin stopping by on my birthday.”

There was a hint of uncertainty there. If I could take away everything she was feeling to reassure her, I would, but there was no manual on how to do so. Everything with Len was a learning process. I was way out of my depth.

When it came to piecing together cases or evidence, analyzing what was in front of me, that was simple, an easy task. Trying to navigate what was happening between Len and I was impossible.

“They are your family,” I said. “I don’t think they’ll hold it against you.”

“It wasn’t just one dinner,” she said, and my eyebrows pulled together.

“What do you mean?”

“I haven’t seen them in forever, not truly. Jake kept me away from them as much as he could, isolated me from anyone who might notice how controlling he was. I’ve been blowing them off for years. After him, I avoided them, afraid the damage I’d done was irreversible.”

“That’s not true,” I said. “I avoided my family after everything with Blythe. I still haven’t seen them in person. But after everything, when Grey pulled me back from the very bottom, I tried to make amends with my mistakes. The second I called my mother for the first time in months, the relief in her voice was enough to make me realize her love was not something so easily taken away. I saw how excited your family was to see you that night. Just let them in and give them a chance. You never know.”

She gave me slight smile. “You really are always a voice of reason, aren’t you?”

I pulled her in closer so we were only an inch apart. My lips pressed to her forehead as I leaned in and kissed her.

“I’m always here to be what you need,” I said. “Goodnight, Lenny.”

She rolled over, smiling as her eyes fluttered shut. It wasn’t long before we both slipped into a deep sleep, easier than either of us ever had before.