Page 41 of Laying it Bare on the Run

“I’m going to save them to a thumb drive to give to Sarge.” Ben reached into the top drawer of his desk and retrieved a flash drive.

“That’s Waik right there.” Harper pointed to a dark haired guy with his gun trained on a young man whose face was bruised and swollen so badly it was hard to make out his facial features and he was blocking a younger woman with his body. In the next image, the young man was lying in a pool of blood and the young woman’s mouth was opened on a scream, pure terror etched on her face. Another photo showed Waik shoving two young women, whose hands had been tied behind their backs, into an unmarked black van. I had no doubt we had enough evidence here to build a strong case against this fucker, picture after picture illustrated Waik committing all sorts of vile and brutal crimes. Fearing what else might be captured on that camera roll, I decided it was time to let him to his work. Harper had seen more than enough.

“Thank you, Ben. I’m so glad your fiancé broke her phone. Don’t tell her I said that but her misfortune helped us onto this. I’ll send Sarge in here to see you. I think we’ve seen enough. I want to get Harper out of here.”

Her eyes were still glued to Ben’s computer. “I knew Waik was a monster. I never had any doubt. He wasn’t just a cold blooded killer. I bet if you track down information on those girls, you’ll find they’ve disappeared without a trace. Probably to another country.” She shook her head erratically, like nothing was making sense. And fuck if this wasn’t some messed up shit. “And my brother didn’t have the pictures. I’m not even sure he knew about this account. But I wonder how my dad got these photos. Did he take them or did someone send them to him? I guess it doesn’t matter either way. What matters is that’s most likely why he was killed.” Shudders ran through her body.

“Come on, Baby. Let’s head home.” I offered her my hand and when she placed hers in mine, I gently tugged her up to me. “It’s only a matter of time now until they arrest him. How about we head on out of here and go relax?” I led her out of Ben’s cubicle. “Thanks again, Ben.” I yelled over my shoulder.

“One little stop if Sarge is still in his office and then we’re out of here.”

Greg’s door was closed, so I knocked.

“Yeah.” He growled out at us.

I popped my head inside his office. “You’re going to want to see Ben. We found the pictures Waik had been looking for. You can see Waik plain as day in them and the photos show all sorts of seedy activities involving him.”

Greg smacked his fist off of his desk before standing. “That is fucking awesome. Where did you find them?” He rounded his desk and met me at the door.

“On Harper’s dad’s iCloud account.”

He shook his head. “It’s hard to destroy that kind of evidence. Gotta love it.”

I backed out of his doorway as Greg brushed past Harper and me. Then I led her out to the car. She hadn’t said a word since her comment about her dad’s death.

Once we were locked inside, I shifted in my seat to face her. A blank expression masked her thoughts. I expected to find relief, excitement, and gratification crawling across her features.

Taking her chin in my hand, I brought her eyes to meet mine. “Are you okay, Baby?”

She blinked at me a few times before really gazing at me. “I can’t believe we found them. He’s going to pay for what he’s done. I’m not going to have to run anymore. And my family is going to have justice.” A smile of pure elation lit up her face. “When I came here today, I figured the little I knew and saw would barely be enough to do anything. I mean I am a witness but probably the only one who is still living.” A slight shiver ran through her body. “But we have what he knew he wouldn’t be able to run away from. Those witnesses can now haunt him from their graves. They can have their closure too.” Her eyes shone with contentment.

“They’ll take him into custody and there’s no way he can deny the evidence.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You ready to go home?”

Her smile grew brighter. “Yes.”

Shifting back, I started the car and then steered us in the direction of home.

Harper kept lifting her hands to her face and then dropping them into her lap, as if she had wound-up energy she needed to release. I had a really great idea on what we could do so she could release it. I grabbed her hand in mine and gave it a squeeze.

After we pulled into my driveway, the two of us entered my house.

When I twisted to face Harper, she lifted on her toes and grabbed my face in her hands to tug me down to her lips. Then she snaked her hands around my neck to pull me tighter as her mouth devoured mine. Her tongue traced the seam of my lips and I opened immediately, wanting to taste her as much as she wanted a taste of me.

A few moments later, she pulled away and touched her forehead to mine. “I’m now free to choose to stay here, not because I have to but because I want to. And I can get a job.”

“You’re really going to stay? With me?” Hope swelled in my chest. And another organ swelled as well with the anticipation of having her every night in my bed for the unforeseeable future.

“I thought we were dating. And you wanted me to stay with you.” She smirked.

Spinning us quickly, I shoved her up against the wall and ground my erection into her belly. “Does this answer your question?”

She moaned and closed her eyes for a moment. When they popped back open, her blue eyes blazed with heat. “Will you make love to me?”

“Right here or do you want to go somewhere horizontal?” I traced my lips along her jawline to her ear. Then I nipped at her lobe.

“Anywhere. I just want to get naked with you and do naughty things.”

“Well, in that case.” Grabbing the hem of her shirt, I lifted it up.

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