She’s already turning towards the door. “Come on. Let’s go get them.”
I stand, my legs a little unsteady, and follow her out.
The hallway feels longer than usual.
Whatever’s waiting on the other side of that door will change everything.
I just don’t know how yet.
Chapter 22
Onyx
It’s been two days since the bodies were found. Which means the cops are looking for a potential serial killer now. I can’t stop thinking about how Emily could have been his third victim.
The club is still on lockdown. She’s holding up well, considering she wasn’t born into this life. But last night when I got back, she seemed distant. I just hope she’s not having second thoughts about getting involved with a biker. Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind I focus on what needs to be done today.
All the club officers are sitting around the table in the meeting room with my old man and Striker. Jasper is standing at the head of the table again, radiating authority. He’s turning out to be a smart and capable Prez. His gaze is on Striker. “Let’s hear what you have for us.”
Striker clears his throat and turns his laptop so we can see the screen. “I got a hit on Brennan.”
Jasper’s eyes light up. “Finally. Tell us everything.”
A faint smile plays on Striker’s lips. “You’re not gonna believe this. He used a prepaid debit card,” he explains.
I speak up, “Didn’t think they were traceable.”
“They are if you load money from your own account. Brennan loaded it himself just before he went on the run and has been using it primarily for food deliveries. Once I found out the card belonged to him, I set up a bot to alert me when it’s used. I just got intel that it was used to make a food purchase inside the city limits of Cedar Falls.”
Slate asks the same thing I’m thinking, “Are you saying we might have an address on this asshole?”
Striker brings up the address on his laptop. “I looked up the owner on the county website. The house belongs to Dorothy Becker. From what I can tell, she’s Brennan’s great-aunt on his mother’s side.”
“The police probably never thought to look there,” I grumble.
“Well, they should have, because it looks like he’s living in the lap of fuckin’ luxury. The house is on a quiet residential street. I didn’t find any prior 911 calls, so he’s either behaving himself or he’s already killed her, so she can’t complain.”
Mica exhales slowly through his nose. “Damn, that dark thinking right here, Striker.”
“Totally justified considering the circumstances,” I shoot back.
“We sharin’ this with the cops?” Mica asks.
Jasper speaks. “Given the mess they made of this whole damn investigation, I say we take the fucker down ourselves. Parcel him up and hand him to them on a silver fuckin’ platter.”
“If I get my hands on him, I’ll kill the bastard,” I mutter. Then I see Mica glaring at me and add, “You would too if he’d laid hands on your woman.”
Jasper adds. “That’s understandable. But we gotta take the asshole alive…” he pauses, then looks at me pointedly. “Unless there’s no other resort. We can’t put anything past a man who’s already killed two women. We don’t have any idea what we’re walking into with this nutjob. He might have killed his aunt and taken over her place. He might panic and draw down on you to keep from facing a double murder charge. He’s just as likely to run like a scared little rabbit because men who abuse and kill their women usually don’t want to tangle with another man, especially one who’s twice his size and all muscle.”
Rock shifts his weight in his chair, his jaw tight. “Some men will put a gun to their own head or choose death by cop to keep from going to prison for life. Brennan doesn’t strike me as the kind of man to do something like that, though.”
Slate drags his hand over his face, clearly exasperated. “It sounds like if we spook him, we might lose him, one way or another.”
“Exactly,” Jasper says. “We’ve been tracking this bastard for weeks. Let’s not get reckless now.”
Striker taps the edge of the laptop. “If he’s there, this’ll turn out to be the best lead we’ve had.”
Mica leans forward. “There’s also the possibility that he holes up and uses the aunt as a hostage in order to buy time.”
