Page 13 of Romeo

I roll my eyes even though he can’t see it.“I’m literally sitting outside the motel right now.I’ve been tracking her all day, but aside from throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her out, this was the next best option.”

“You said she was adamant about not going with you?”Bradyn, tone all business, speaks up.

“Yeah.She’s set on catching this guy herself.”

“What’s your opinion on the situation?”he asks.

I think back to the look on her face when I’d accused her of being the one responsible for her grandfather’s death.She’d been horrified; then that horror turned to anger.“We know she didn’t kill him.My guess is she’s suffering from a heavy dose of survivor’s guilt.”

“What makes you think that?”Elliot questions.

“Her determination,” I reply.“She’s an untrained woman dead set on finding a killer all by herself.A killer who knows her face, but she claims to not have seen his.So, if it’s not guilt, then either she knows more than she’s letting on, or she’s desperate to prove herself.Truthfully, it could be either.”

“Prove herself to who?”Dylan asks.“Her brother?”

“Maybe.”I lean back in my seat.“She was truly afraid of inadvertently bringing the killer anywhere near him.We know they had a falling out, so I wonder if this isn’t her way of trying to show him she’s changed.”

“By risking her life?”

“Wouldn’t be the craziest thing we’ve seen.”Romeo whines in his seat and then scratches the window with his paw.“Hey, I need to go.Call you guys back.”I end the call then peer out the window into the darkness.

It’s nearly eleven at night, and the parking lot of the old motel Jules chose to hide out in has been empty for nearly two hours.Aside from two men stumbling up to two separate rooms about an hour ago.

I narrow my gaze at the shadows where Romeo is staring and note movement that shouldn’t be there.“All right, boy.You ready for some action?”I check my weapon then open the door as quietly as I can.

“Fuss, Romeo.”Heel.He leaps out of the truck and stays right at my side as we move closer to the building.

The man sneaks around the back, so I follow, sticking as close as I can to the shadows.Leaving my weapon at the ready but not raised in case it’s just another drunk stumbling in for the night, I come around the corner.

But the man is gone.

The alley is empty.There’s no way.Literally no way that he got out of this alley without coming back toward me.I look up and note the escape ladder half descended about four feet above my head.

“What the?—”

A scream rips through the heavy night air.I turn on my heel and sprint back around to the front of the motel.

Another scream.

My stomach plummets, and I take the stairs two at a time to the second floor.The door to Jules’s motel room is shut, but I don’t let that stop me.I slam my boot into the door, right near the handle.It splinters open, and I raise my weapon.

The room is empty except for Jules, who is cowering in the corner, face pale, hands pressed to her abdomen.

“Such, Romeo,” I order in German.Search.My dog takes off through the room, checking the corners and beneath the bed, as I follow directly behind him.“Where did he go?”I ask her.

“Bathroom,” she manages.

I check the handle, but it’s locked.Since asking him to open the door and having him listen is a long shot and will waste time Jules likely doesn’t have, I slam my boot into the door again.Wood cracks as it pops open, and I rush in.

The bathroom window is wide open, but there’s no one inside.

Who is this guy?

I lock the window so he can’t come in behind me then rush out to the living room and sink to my knees at Jules’s side.

“I got him,” she says with a smile.Her breathing is ragged, and with the placement of her wound, I can only imagine the damage done.

“Looks like he got you.I need you to lie back.”I lift her from the floor and lay her on top of the mattress.

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