I can feel her breathing stutter.
“She was conscious,” Liv adds, quieter now. “The whole time.”
My jaw locks. “Exactly.”
Her gaze drops briefly, like she’s seeing it again. “I can’t even comprehend how horrible that was,” she admits, “what that must have felt like.”
“They’re escalating,” I point out. “And we’re behind.”
Her eyes flick back to mine. “You’re not.”
I let out a quiet, humorless laugh. “You haven’t seen what I’ve seen.”
“I saw her-”
“It’s not the same,” I cut her off. “It’s…”
She studies me for a long second. “Tell me.” The words are simple, but they’re a challenge in disguise.
I look away first, examining the curtains far more intensely than is needed. I know where this conversation is going, and I’m not sure if I’m ready.
But she deserves to know what we’re facing and what’s weighing on my shoulders.
“The deceased victim… her and the woman last night… and all of the missing persons cases for the last three months, all look just like you.”
The words sit heavy in the air. She doesn’t move, just lays there watching me like she’s waiting for me to say “sike.”
I wait it out, giving her the time she needs to process it. Then she finally speaks again, in a painfully fear filled whisper. “All of them? I thought it was just the dead woman.”
“All of them, Liv. Every single victim or possible victim for several months.” I trail my fingers through the chocolate brown strands twining over her pillow, thinking about how it matches every single woman involved in the case.
“Is that why your boss warned you against being around me?”
I nod once. “Yeah.” I wait a moment before adding, “he’s not wrong.”
Her expression shifts, sharpness taking over the fear she’d been trying to hide. “But you still came here…”
“I did.”
“Why?”
I don’t hesitate this time. “Because staying away doesn’t change what’s happening out there. And it doesn’t change this.” I tighten my arms around her slightly. “It just makes it worse.”
Her breath catches, silence settling into the limited space between us. Her eyes widen just enough to tell me that she’s still thinking about the continued concern since the first time I came to her apartment. “If they see a cop hanging around here…”
“Then I’ll put them down. If anyone so much as puts a hand on you, I’ll put a bullet between their eyes.” I mean every word; she just wasn’t expecting it. “You’re not alone in this, Liv. I’m working this case, I’m watching this neighborhood, and whenI’m not, there’s a stakeout, or patrols. Something. Someone watching.”
“Okay,” she’s sounding like she’s still figuring out if she believes it or not.
“I mean it,” I add. “I’m not going anywhere.”
There it is again, the line I probably shouldn’t say. The promise I don’t know if I can keep but want to so fucking badly because it feels true right now. And that’s enough.
Her hands come up, resting lightly against my chest, over my shirt and over my scars. She hasn’t commented on them since last night. Not a single question even though I’m sure she’s full of them. Like she’s already got some kind of understanding without needing the details.
“I don’t know what this is going to look like,” she says quietly.
“Neither do I.”
