“I need to use the restroom,” she told him as she walked
He frowned. “Now?”
“Yes, now. It’s Friday night and traffic will most likely be insane which means the ride back to your place will take even longer than normal. I’ll be in and out, I promise.”
“I’ll go with her,” Zoe offered.
Alex saw the pretty detective change directions. “Make it quick,” he ordered the two women before adding a softened, “Please.”
Eden looked his way. With a half-assed salute, she gave him a smirk and a wink before carefully weaving herself through the dense crowd. Though it was hard with this many people, he could tell she was doing her best not to touch anyone as she went.
“She’s gonna be a handful for you.” Dan grinned beside him.
Alex snorted. “That’s the truth.”
He kept his eye on her until she disappeared into the small inlet housing both the men’s and women’s restrooms. It was easy to understand the disappointment she was probably feeling, because he felt it, too.
They’d struck out again.
For the past three days and nights, the team—and Dan—had set Eden up in various places where The Liberator—or,Josiah—could easily approach her. Of course, Alex and the others would position themselves nearby, ready to jump in and protect her, if necessary.
They’d tried the coffee shop near the station, the grocery store, and the library. Eden had even taken a few, long walks down by the river, but nothing. In each scenario, she was seemingly alone, yet their killer hadn’t made a single move to take her.
Tonight they’d decided to try this club. It was a popular hangout for young adults, and though it was crowded as hell, it was the perfect setup for a man to approach a young woman without appearing odd or out of the norm.
Eden had been hit on plenty over the past few hours. It was hard as hell for Alex to sit by and listen while other men asked her to dance and offered to buy her drinks. The worst were the drunken assholes who’d use cheesy-as-shit lines to try and get her to leave with them.
A couple times, Alex had started to get up from his seat and intervene, but Eden had covertly told him to stand down. She’d made it clear she wasn’t interested, and lucky for them, none of the guys pushed things too far.
Throughout this whole sting operation, Eden had handled herself with strength and grace. Despite the fact she was physically and mentally spent, she hadn’t complained once. Instead, she’d remained focused, determined to catch the sonofabitch.
Unfortunately, it didn’t look like that was going to happen tonight.
The sound of a faucet turning on tore Alex from his thoughts, and he half-listened as Zoe and Eden made small talk as they washed their hands. When the automatic hand dryer came to life a minute later, it sounded like a jet engine in his ears.
Between that and the loud music, Alex almost missed what happened next.
“Wrong one, buddy,” Zoe told someone. “This is the ladies’ room.”
“Sorry.” A man’s slurred voice came through the mic. “My mistake.”
Sounding unconcerned, Zoe casually responded with, “No problem.”
Assuming the guy was too drunk to figure out where he should be, Alex kept an eye out on the hallway’s entrance while he waited for the two women to return.
“Dude.” Zoe spoke more sternly. “What are you doing? I told you the men’s room is the other one.”
Internal alarm bells became deafening as instinct had Alex taking a step in the other direction.
No longer slurred, the stranger’s deep voice returned. “I know.”
“What the hell?” Rhys muttered, clearly listening to the odd conversation from the car.
Several painful grunts came through the mic, just before they heard Eden scream Zoe’s name.
“Hello, Eden. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
No.Alex’s eyes shot to Dan’s, his heart rate spiking as he pulled his weapon and took off in Eden and Zoe’s direction. Pushing his way through the crowd, he yelled to Garrett and Rhys.
