Page 7 of Nate Hayes

Photos. Disappearing addresses. Loopholes.

He was smart. Careful.Calculated.

But what got my attention wasn’t in the legal database—it was in a backlogged local news article from three years ago. A woman named Jenna McCrae had gone missing after filing a harassment report. She’d dated Holloway for five months. Friends claimed she’d said he was “too intense” and that she’d “tried to cut things off.”

She was never found.

And Derek? Never charged.

I sat back in my chair, heart pounding, the glow of the screen painting my face in cold light.

I looked toward the couch where Willa was curled up, her breathing soft and steady, her braid draped over the pillow like a ribbon of gold.

She had no idea how close she'd come to something worse.

He wasn’t just following her.

He washunting.

And he was getting bolder.

The photo left on my porch wasn’t just a message.

It was a warning.

I see you. I see her. I’m close.

And that meant it was time to stop playing defense.

I opened a secure chat and typed a quick message to Frasier, Max, Axel, and Turner, my SEAL brothers who lived on Fraiser Mountain.

‘Need intel sweep. Subject: Derek Jacob Holloway. Cold trail, but he’s around here. Might be escalating—possible pattern. Need confirmation if Jenna McCrae is connected. And if he’s made it to Honeywood.

Frasier replied instantly:

I'm on it. Sending Axel your way for backup. Stay sharp.

Good. That gave me time to prep.

I looked back at Willa one more time.

She trusted me to keep her safe.

And now? I was going to do more than that.

I was going to end this.

I was on my second cup of coffee when I heard the low rumble of tires on gravel.

Axel didn’t use GPS or text to indicate his arrival time.He just showed up when he showed up—like a ghost with a Glock and a perfect beard.

The Jeep stopped, and a second later, the door creaked open.

Axel stepped out in all black, boots silent against the dirt, backpack slung over one shoulder. Next out of the truck was that huge German Shepherd of his. Bravo, he didn’t look like it, but he was a gentle dog. Until he felt you were an enemy. I’ve seen him take grown men down more than once.

“Morning,” Axel said, it was barely six a.m.

“You sleep?”

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