“Yeah, but can I at least help clean up first?”
“No.” I smile.
She flops back down onto the bed with a relaxed sigh.
“I really like you, James Oakley.”
“I really like you too, Willow Hutton,” I say softly.
She meets my eyes, and the depth of feeling is almost too much. She’s like a tornado that came into my life and changed it irrevocably. I couldn’t be more grateful for it.
I drag myself away from her as she snuggles back into my bed, collecting our dishes and heading to the kitchen to clean up.
I’m almost done when my phone rings, and I see Woodcroft calling.
“Hey, man,” I say after drying my hands off.
“Hey, how are things?” His voice sounds tight, like he’s trying to play it cool but he’s stressed.
“What’s going on, Wood?” I ask instead of answering him.
“There’s another one. In San Antionio, this time.”
It feels like my entire body is drained of all its blood. It’s a shock to the system not only hearing there’s been another victim but that it’s so fucking close to me.
I open and close my mouth a couple of times, but I can’t make any words come out. It’s like I’m locked up mentally and physically.
“Oak, I think we need to make local authorities aware.”
I clear my throat. “They— They are. The sheriff here is informed.”
“Okay, that’s good. Can you let him know of this new information? And I’ll call you again if I hear anything new.”
“Yep.” I strain to get it out.
“You okay, man? I know this is a lot to drop on you, but I need you to be safe.”
“I’ll be good. Let me call the sheriff.” I know I should probably talk to Woodcroft more, but knowing that Tennison is in Texas has me in a panic. It was one thing when we just thought he was moving around, but now he’s in the same state as me and it’s less and less likely that I’m not a part of his reasoning now.
“Call me if you need anything. Just keep your eyes open, and we’ll do everything we can to catch him before anything else happens.” They feel like empty words because we’ve been hunting him for years to no avail. Anything’s possible, but I have a feeling things will get worse before they get better.
He hangs up, and I stare at my bedroom door. I need to find a way to end this. I refuse to put that woman in any danger.
Scrolling through my contacts, I pull up Sheriff’s number.
“I never thought I’d see the day that you call me.”
“I have news.”
“I’m listening.” His playful tone turns serious in an instant.
“Tennison took another victim in San Antonio.”
He curses. “We’ve got to get proactive.”
“Yeah, for once, I agree.”
“It would be a lot easier if you were working in the department,” he not-so-subtly pries.
