He’s skinny, wearing a black jacket over a gray hoodie and jeans. There’s a bad tattoo of a name on the side of his neck that’s been marked out by a giant, shaky X. There’s nothing menacing about him. He looks like a guy who loiters outside a gas station selling loose cigarettes and catcalling women who can’t get away from him quickly enough. These small towns are bursting with his type.
“Do you recognize him?” Lee asks.
“No, I’ve never seen him before.”
“Send me the video and that screenshot. Landon can track him down.”
I do as he asks, and he starts typing on his phone, then gets to his feet to make a call. He paces the house, talking to Landon.
I’ve learned so much so quickly. I wonder if Lee has considered that he might have killed the wrong man if this person had Isla’s dress. Or maybe this guy is some kind of accomplice. At minimum, they were involved in her murder, not to mention they were crazy enough to hold onto her dressas a trophy for seven years. It’s deeply unsettling that someone like that knows who I am and where I work.
When Lee hangs up, he unlocks the front door and sits beside me again. “Lee.” I look him in the eye, trying to keep my voice steady. “Should I be scared?”
He slides his hand behind my neck. The warmth and pressure of his palm is comforting. “I’m so fucking sorry. There was no reason to believe they knew where I lived or anything about you. I should’ve told you to stay away when it first started.”
“We both know I wouldn’t have listened. I wanted to be here. I still do.”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” He runs his thumb back and forth over my nape. “They want something from me, not you. You were a convenient way to fuck with me and deliver the dress. But we aren’t taking any chances. Landon isn’t the only one who’s been helping me. Justus, another guy from his group, is in town too. I helped him get revenge on a trafficker for a family member a long time ago. I trust him. Landon is the hacker for his group, but Justus had the same role as me before they decided to stop using that tactic.”
A man willing to kill, that’s what he means.
“I’m going to talk to Justus, see if he’ll stay here. I don’t want you to be here alone, just in case. I’m going to get a guy to watch over Lacey too.”
“Does she know?” I ask.
“She knows I used to work for a vigilante group that helped women but not what I did for them.”
“Whatever happens from now on, tell me. Don’t keep me in the dark,” I warn. “Not now. Promise me.”
He nods. “I promise.”
A knock at the door makes me jump and Rogue leaps to her feet, barking. Lee squeezes my knee. “It’s just Landon.”
He calls for him to come in, and Rogue runs over to try to lick him to death. “Quite the guard dog you have,” Landon chuckles, petting her and joining us in the living room with his laptop tucked under his arm. Goblin darts away to my room, wanting no part of the sudden chaos around her.
Landon asks to look at the entire video, from a second before the man entered until he left, then has me send him more stills with different angles of the man’s face. “I should be able to get a hit off these.”
“Facial recognition software?” I ask.
“Yes, if he’s ever had a driver’s license, or even has a picture on his social media with his real name, he’s identifiable.”
Well, that’s not disturbing at all.
“It may take a few days,” he warns, glancing at Lee. They start discussing the plan to have Justus stay here and about putting a bodyguard with Lacey.
I feel antsy and anxious. It’s hard to just sit here, so I go to the kitchen and start cleaning up from the dinner that never happened. I’d barely started cooking when he came in and everything went to hell.
As I put away ingredients and toss dishes into the dishwasher, my mind calms a little. I’m not panicky by nature, but this shit is scary. I’m terrified for Lee, and not onlybecause someone may come after him. What if this leads to authorities finding out that he killed Joss, or that he killed countless other monsters? He’d be locked up forever.
I’m also afraid of how this is all affecting him. He’s already so broken by what happened to Isla. He may not say he needs me or even think it, but he does. I know he cares about me. With everything that he’s been going through he was still looking out for me, even showing up at the diner when I didn’t text back. He was still comforting me, holding me most evenings as we sat on the couch. I didn’t realize he needed those moments as much as I did. Whatever happens, I’m in this with him whether he likes it or not.
The extremely long day begins to catch up with me. Lee and Landon are deep in conversation in the living room when I interrupt to tell Lee I’m going to bed.
“Can you take tomorrow off work?” Lee asks.
“I already planned to have the day off.”
“Good. Justus will be here tomorrow afternoon.”
