Chapter 12
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“I’m going to be sick.”
True to his word, Trevor made it to his kitchen trashcan just in time for his stomach’s meager contents to come rushing out. When the convulsions stopped, he went to the sink and rinsed out his mouth before walking woodenly back into the living room.
“The good news is she’s still alive.” Mac offered softly. They’d all seen the pictures that had been sent to Trevor’s email account.
“She’s been beaten to a fucking pulp!” Trevor nearly gagged as he looked at the picture again.
Lexi was sitting in the middle of an otherwise-empty room. She’d been tied to a chair, and someone had used their fists on her. One of her eyes was nearly swollen shut. She had a bloody nose and lip, and the cheekbone that had already been bruised from before had been struck so hard it was split.
“Anything that gives away where she might be?” Grant asked no one in particular.
Rubbing his hand across his scruff, Trevor did his best to study it as if it were any other case. It was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do, but he knew he had to at least try to remain objective. He had to stay strong. For Lexi.
When Trevor found the bastard who’d dared to hurt what was his...“I’m going to kill him. I’m going to find the sonofabitch who did this, and I’m going to tear him limb from fucking limb.”
“There’s not one person here who will stop you.” Grant looked at him solemnly.
“I’m assuming you’ve tried tracing it,” Trevor directed the question to Derek, his voice quivering.
“Yeah, with no luck. Whoever sent it has so many encryptions embedded in the fuckin’ thing, it could be coming from next door, and I wouldn’t know it.”
“Damn. That’s not good,” Coop mumbled under his breath.
All eyes went to Coop, who glanced back at them with confusion. “What? I’m just sayin’, when it comes to this shit, D’s the smartest man I know. Ifhecan’t figure where the email came from, we’re screwed.”
Mac punched him in the arm and muttered something only he could hear. She seemed to do that a lot with Coop. The two reminded Trevor of the way Olivia and her brother, Mike, acted when they were around each other.
“Sean’s right about one thing,” Derek said, his fingertips still flying across his keyboard. “Whoever is doing this is damn good.” He stopped long enough to look up at Trevor and vow, “I’m not giving up, though. There’s a way in...I just have to find it.”
With a nod, Trevor walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water. He heard a loud ding, followed by Derek hollering for him to come back.
“He sent another one. A typed message.”
“What does it say?”
Derek turned one of the screens around to show Trevor and the others.
Trevor read the message out loud. “The sins of our past always find a way back into our present.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Grant grumbled.
Trevor shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“Has she ever mentioned anything about her past that would come back down on her like this? An ex-boyfriend with a major grudge, former co-worker she pissed off...anything?” Jake asked.
“No. Nothing.”
“You’re sure?” Derek looked at him. “I ran her background and financials, and she’s clean on that end, but...”
“But what, D?” Trevor challenged, not liking where Derek was going.
“You two haven’t been together all that long. How well do you really know this woman?”
Trevor’s hands instinctively fisted at his sides. “Don’t. Don’t do that.”
