Page 105 of Duty Unbound

Corey frowned. “That’s against protocol.”

“I need to know, Corey. If it’s Mel, I need to know right now.”

He studied me for a long moment, then nodded sharply. “Follow my car. Stay in the background. Touch nothing.”

“Understood.”

I trailed his unmarked vehicle through downtown Dallas, my knuckles white on the steering wheel. The logical part of my brain knew the odds of this homicide being Mel were low. But after thirty-six hours with no sleep and no leads, logic wasn’t exactly in the driver’s seat.

We arrived at an abandoned warehouse surrounded by police cruisers, their lights flashing silently in the morning sun.Yellow crime scene tape cordoned off the area. Officers moved with purpose, collecting evidence and taking statements.

Corey parked, and I pulled in behind him. He spoke briefly to another detective, then motioned for me to join him.

“Stay behind me,” he murmured. “Don’t say anything.”

I nodded, following him into the building. The interior was dark and damp, with graffiti covering the walls and debris littering the concrete floor. The smell hit me immediately—the unmistakable metallic scent of blood mixed with the beginnings of decay.

In the center of the room, a body lay covered with a white sheet. A female medical examiner crouched beside it, making notes on a clipboard.

“What do we have, Dr. Chen?” Corey asked, approaching the scene.

She looked up, her expression grim. “Female, Caucasian, approximately thirty years old. Single gunshot wound to the chest. Time of death estimated between twelve and eighteen hours ago.”

My breath caught in my throat. The description could match Mel.

“Do we have an ID?” Corey’s voice betrayed nothing of the tension I knew he must be feeling for my sake.

Dr. Chen shook her head. “No identification found on the body. We’re running prints now, but it’ll take time.”

Corey glanced at me, then back to Dr. Chen. “I’d like to see the victim.”

She hesitated, then nodded, carefully pulling back the sheet.

I steeled myself, expecting the worst. But the moment I saw her face, relief washed over me like a physical force. It wasn’t Mel. The woman had similar coloring but different facial features—sharper cheekbones, thinner lips, a longer nose.

Not Mel. Not Mel. Not Mel.

I repeated it like a mantra in my head, guilt immediatelyfollowing the relief. Some other family would be getting devastating news today.

“Thank you,” Corey said quietly to Dr. Chen, who replaced the sheet and returned to her work.

As we walked back to our vehicles, Corey placed a hand on my shoulder. “You okay?”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

“Go home. Get some sleep. I’ll call if anything comes up.”

But I couldn’t go back to Nova’s estate. Not yet. Not without something concrete to report. The thought of facing her questions, her fear that mirrored my own, was unbearable.

“I need to do something,” I said. “I can’t just sit around waiting.”

Corey studied me for a moment. “We’re doing everything we can, Ethan. Every available officer knows about this case.”

“It’s not enough.”

“It never feels like enough when it’s someone you care about.” His voice softened with understanding. “But running yourself into the ground won’t help her.”

He was right, but it didn’t matter. Sleep was impossible. Food was irrelevant. Nothing mattered except finding Mel.