Page 38 of Watch Me
Fuck. I hope we solve this shittomorrow.
I didn’t sleep a wink.
The entire night I held Reagan as tight as I could, as though I’d wake up and she’d be gone again. I didn’t know if there was a connection with her laptop, a connection among all three women other than the wood plaques, or if some perp was randomly targeting victims. Reagan was more or less new in town, and when we went on the ride-along, she didn’t seem as though she knew Daisy, and I didn’t think she was hiding anything fromme.
The look on her face when she realized that a killer had entered her condo made me scared too. It would be different if I knew who this guy was, but I had no idea. Amy’s murder was clean, in a manner of speaking. We’d found no leads since the person watching her through her webcam was using shit, so we couldn’t trace who it was. Will had said something about a chain connection, but the servers were from different countries. I didn’t know how it all worked because I was muscle, so to speak. I knew how to use a computer, but the logistics were beyond what I knew. What I did know was that there was no such a thing as a perfect murder, and eventually, we would find out who the killerwas.
I just hoped it was before anything happened toReagan.
Unlike most mornings, I didn’t wake Reagan with my mouth or my hand or any other part of my body because I wanted her to sleep as long as she could, given the emotional circumstances. I kissed her temple and then slid out of bed before getting into the shower. The warm water gave me a little bit of energy, but I also knew I’d need cup after cup of coffee to get me through theday.
After the quickest shower I’d ever taken in my life—I was scared to have Reagan out of my sight—I went back into my bedroom, a towel wrapped around my waist. She was awake. “Morning, Buttercup.”
She smiled slightly. “Morning.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and brushed her dark hair from her face. “Did you sleep okay?”
She frowned. “I don’t think I slept for more than thirty minutes.”
“More than me.”
Reagan sat up. “You didn’t sleep at all?”
“How could I?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “But what are we going to do?”
“I’m going to fucking catch this guy.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I’m just scared.”
So was I, but even if I had to go door to door looking for some fucker watching women, I had no doubt Shawn and I would eventually find this guy. I needed to go into the station and talk to Shawn, Will, and the ME, but I couldn’t leave Reaganalone.
“I’ll protect you.”
“I know.”
I sighed deeply. “I need to go get an update from Shawn. Come with me and then I’ll go with you to class.”
“Go with me to class?”
“For now.” I stood and went to my closet for a suit to change into. Even though I had told Reagan the previous night that she wasn’t going to class, I also knew she was pursuing her dream job and having me shadow her was a way for her to stay safe without giving thatup.
“And then what?”
“Are you really going to question me about this?”
I heard her get out of the bed as I grabbed my slacks. “I don’t want to argue, but do you have time to go with me to class?”
“You’d rather die?” I shouted, the thought once again crossing my mind. I wasn’t angry at her, but my heart hurt and cracked slightly every time I thought about finding her bloody and dead like the two murder victims. I feared that if I weren’t standing next to her 24/7, somethingwouldhappen.
“Of course not. I just don’t understand why this is happening. I don’t know anyone with a reason to kill me.”
I sighed and moved toward her, wrapping her in my arms. “That’s what I’m going to find out. This is more than a job now. Don’t you understand? I’m going to do everything I can to keep you safe.”
She nodded against my bare chest. “Okay.”
“Okay,” I repeated and pulled back. I slipped on a pair of boxers from my dresser drawer. “Get ready to go. Today might be a long fucking day.”
