Maybe I’m thinking too deeply into this. We just met and I sound like an absolute nut job thinking that we’re more than what we really are. Blakely mentioned soulmates, but is that even real or is it something just written in books to keep you wishing? A criminal like me can't really have a happy ending, right?
“Earth to Celeste.” She waves her hands in my face. “See, you’re thinking about him. So stop being a stubborn bitch and talk to your man. Plus, maybe he'll have a friend that I can sink my claws into. You don’t want to deprive me of that opportunity, do you?”
“Fine, I’ll meet with him, but tonight is girls’ night. No man is going to take me away from that. Now pour me anotherglass, bitch, and let's go make forts with the girls.” I finally concede and unlock my screen to text him back.
Me: Let me know when you get off tomorrow, I’ll get a sitter and come by your house to talk.
Alaric: See you at six!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ALARIC
“The course of true love never did run smooth.” - William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, Scene 1
The rage that I have right now towards Monroe is burning me alive. I don’t know what the fuck came over her to think that she can treat Celeste like a piece of shit. Yeah, it was odd that she was at the crime scene, but she was there checking on her employee and stayed with the little girl to make sure she was okay. If she had any involvement in the kidnapping, why the hell would she stay? She’s not stupid. I’m good at reading people. It’s literally my job as a profiler. Nothing about Celeste raises alarms. She owns a strip club, a successful, well-known one at that. I never asked what she did for a living because I don’t give a shit.
What I am worried about, though, is that she has a target on her back for our assailant to dig his claws into. Even worse if he knows that she means something to me. Hell, one of her girls was kidnapped and it could very well be him. The need to protect her is potent. If he takes her, Iwould burn every fucking building down to find her and destroy him with my bare hands. To hell with my career. Wouldn’t be my first kill. I’ve had many with my military background as well as this job. I’m a trained killer and I wouldn’t think twice to tear his body into shreds.
Celeste has been avoiding me since the encounter at the station. She was insulted by my partner who was out of line, and that caused her rage to be turned on me. I can’t fault her, but she has to know that I would never belittle her. From the start of meeting her, I could tell that she was someone who would deliver a blow if you attempted to swing at her. The fire I saw in her eyes when I was observing from behind the interrogation window was lethal. If my director and I hadn’t barged in the way we did, I would bet money she would have slammed Monroe's face into the table.
I would have gone in there sooner to stop the questioning if my director hadn’t told me to hold off. He’d said that Monroe had a weird feeling about Celeste and she had done some digging. Ever since she saw her at my apartment, it’s like she became obsessed with her and digging into things that had no business to be dug into. Luckily, Celeste finally responded to me and agreed to meet me after work to talk.
“If The Jawbreaker was behind this kidnapping, he’s getting sloppy. He broke into a house, which we haven’t seen yet and the place was trashed. From the mess, it appears the victim put up a good fight, which he wasn’t expecting. I wonder if he knows about the little girl and if we need to have Celeste and the little girl monitored or put into witness protection to keep them safe,” Beckett says, pulling me out of my thoughts.
We’re currently set up in the conference room with several rolling boards lined with photos of the women who were kidnapped, crime scenes, connections, and now our newestvictim who we need to get to quickly. The assailant has moved on quickly to the next victim, which makes me wonder about the sloppiness and sudden impulse for a new girl, and if he has something big up his sleeve. He’s moved from a lower end club to a now high-end one. Will he now venture into going inside or stake out from the streets? Either way, I need inside, and the person who can help me is the owner that I’m seeing tonight.
“I’ll be seeing her tonight. I could ask her if she’s seen anything suspicious around the club or anyone lingering around more than normal. I’ll keep an eye out on her and maybe visit the little girl as well. When I’m not with her, I’ll have detail with her to keep a look out,” I agree with him.
She’s the owner of the club and one of her dancers was taken. Maybe he’ll try to come after her since she allows these women to commit “sin” on her watch.
“I don’t know if that’ll be necessary,” Monroe speaks out as she walks into the conference room with a couple files. “I’ve done some digging on her. She seems like she has a lot of eyes on her.”
My body swivels toward the direction Monroe came from. I can feel the fire in my chest ignite from the sound of her voice.
“Why the fuck are you looking into Celeste? She’s not a suspect nor a victim at this point. What’s your deal with her? Ever since you met her, you’ve been anything but nice to her. She’s done nothing wrong and you’re treating her as nothing but a criminal,” I snap at her, not giving a single fuck what she has on her.
Technically, Celeste isn’t a suspect. For her to dig into her without cause, is illegal and honestly a cry of desperation.
“How much do you know about this girlfriend of yours? Do you even know who she is or who she's related to?” She slams the files she was holding down onto the table.
“I know exactly who she is and I don’t need you toenlighten me. Back the fuck off, Monroe. You’re wasting time over whatever jealousy or whatever the hell vendetta you have. You don’t know her and I suggest you mind your fucking business or I’m taking you off this case. Do you understand me? I’m your superior and you’re now crossing the line.” I push off the table and exit the conference room.
I hate to pull that card but I’ve had it with her behavior and the sudden switch she had.
“I don’t understand why he won’t just hear me out. He should know who he has in his bed and the secrets she’s keeping,” I hear Monroe tell Beckett, which causes me to pause and listen in.
Her intentions are to be a good friend but she has a shitty way of doing it. I hate the feeling of being a little bit intrigued to hear what she’s found, but would that really change how I feel or what I want?
“I understand you have concerns, but she’s not one of our suspects. You’re reaching in the wrong direction. Whatever the two of you had years ago, is over. You both agreed it was better to be friends and leave it at that. Now that he has someone, you’ve become obsessed with checking her out. If she finds out that you’re running checks on her illegally without a probable cause, she can come after you. If you want to keep your friendship and your ass out of jail, knock it off,” Beckett reprimands her, having my back.
“Yeah, and when shit goes south with her, don’t come crawling to me because I tried to warn both of you assholes. By the way, it was a one-night stand. There were never feelings and I’m just being a good fucking friend.” Before she can exit out behind me, I make my way to the vending machine to grab a Red Bull.
I join them after cooling a bit and avoid any eye contact with Monroe. We review the victims we found and alsoSamantha's background to see if there were similarities between the three other than their occupation. All of them come from broken homes with parents who were either arrested for drugs or abuse. They all went into the system and moved here once they turned eighteen. No college under their belts and barely made it out of high school. They have no family that are alive or not locked up that we could talk to.
“Solace.” Our director pops his head into the conference room. “Your warrant just got approved. I have SWAT ready for you, head out and see if we can catch this bastard.”
Like clockwork, the three of us jump out of our seats and rush out, snatching the warrant out of his hands and to the community of lies.
