Page 41 of Raven's Curse

Kash slowed to a halt, chest heaving, Nyx still tugging at her lead. “I’d let her go, but…”

Greer waved it off, bracing her hands on her knees as she sucked in air. “It’s not worth the risk. He didn’t even turn on his headlights.”

Chase kept his gun at the ready, scanning the forest as he took a moment to breathe. “He wanted us to see him.”

Kash nodded. “Bastard probably waited until he caught a glimpse of our lights. Not sure what that means considering he didn’t attempt another shot.”

Greer stared down the road, mouth pinched tight. “It means, this just got a whole lot worse.” She drew herself up, cheeks red, every exhale creating a fine mist around her face. “We should head back. You guys can come out with Jordan and Nyx tomorrow if you’re not on a call. See if you can find his nest. Until then, we regroup.”

She turned — looked Chase in the eyes. “It’s time to circle the wagons.”

Chapter Eleven

Three dead.

All on her watch.

And she wasn’t any closer to a viable suspect.

Greer closed her eyes as she leaned against her desk, images from the board following her into the darkness. Pike had prioritized the autopsy, and the crime lab had fast-tracked the forensics. Not that either had given much insight. She still had more questions than answers, and no way to guess who might be targeted next.

Other than Chase and his teammates.

The fact they’d gone twenty-four hours without another body only added to the tension because she knew the bastard wasn’t done. Hadn’t finished whatever mission he was on.

Hadn’t exacted enough vengeance based on the cruel nature of his kills.

Salvation.

His last message. Burned onto another blank dog tag, this time wrapped around Anna’s ankle. What Greer assumed was the pair to the one the bastard had left with Stacey. The single word pooling dread deep in her gut because she’d seen various interpretations of salvation while working the joint-task-force missions, and they’d all carried a heavy toll.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. She’d barely slept in the past four days, and tonight wasn’t looking any better.

The door creaked, a horn blaring in the distance before it cut off. A voice tsked, the familiar tone curling around her heart — squeezing it until it barely moved. Took all her strength just to keep it beating. She’d thought the time and emotional distance would lessen her feelings.

She’d been wrong.

If anything, she’d fallen harder. Chase’s obvious pain tugging at the soul she’d left bleeding on her sleeve.

She scrubbed her hand across her face, putting her ever-present coffee mug down on her desk before glancing over at Chase and his buddies as they filed in. “Well?”

Foster stopped, looking over at Bodie as if the man held the answers before arching a brow. “Well, what?”

Greer resisted rolling her eyes. “Is everyone okay?”

He eased. “Fine.”

“No one got shot? Or poisoned? Maybe infected with some kind of deadly pathogen that’s about to wipe out my entire town?”

Zain coughed. “Is that even a thing?”

She stood, turned to face them. “Sadly, I’ve already lived that.”

He shook his head. “No wonder you have trust issues.”

“Just look me in the eyes and swear you didn’t just get back from dropping another body off at the morgue.”

Foster sighed. “If we’d had another body, we would’ve called you.”