Page 83 of Watch Me
“We have to get dressed?”
“Yes,” I replied. “It’s cold down there.”
“Down there?”
I threw his jeans at him and started to walk out the door to get the rest of our clothes from the trail. “The basement.”
“We’re going to the basement?”
I heard the rustling of his jeans and called over my shoulder. “We are.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a surprise. Put your socks and shoes on too.”
“Are you serious?”
“It’s worth it.” I slipped my black, long-sleeved shirt on over myhead.
“I’m so confused.”
“Just get dressed, baby.”
“Baby? We’re on to terms of endearment now?”
I spun around. “Yes, now that we’ve decided to be official and I lov—”
Jack slipped his shirt over his head. “Okay,baby. Lead the way.”
We slipped on our shoes, and without any more questions, Jack followed me down the stairs. I unlocked the door to the basement and started to descend those stairs. Moans filled the air, and I wasn’t sure if Jack heard.
After I took the final step, I stood to the side and waited for Jack to see what I had in store. Mini Reagan started to thrash in the chair, the legs trying to rip the heavy plastic as it scooted againstit.
Jack stopped beside me. “Who the fuck is this, Katrina?”
Iwas running on adrenaline from the lack of sleep I’d had in the last forty-eight hours or so. Reagan’s tip had led to a hit, which meant we were more than likely dealing with someone who worked on campus—in the IT department, I assumed. The cybercrimes tech on duty looked into the email Reagan had received, and it had some sort of encryption that collected data, specifically the IP addresses. It was enough to get us a warrant, so I’d been working on the paperwork all day, so that first thing Monday morning, we could get a judge to sign off on them.
Our plan was to collect the DNA and hair follicles from every IT employee to start since the person obviously knew what they were doing with computers. The shitty thing was that it was a holiday weekend, and most employees were out of town. Therefore, we were going to go to the campus on Monday morning to collect everything—after the judge signed off on the warrants. That way, no one could tip off the killer if that were thecase.
That was until I got a frantic call from Reagan. “Hey,” I greeted. “I’m—”
“Maddie isn’t here.”
I looked at Shawn, and he raised a brow at me, questioning what was going on. “What do you mean Maddie isn’t there?”
“She came to have dinner with me at the bar, told me she was going to wait up for me, but I just got home, and she’s not here.”
“Did you try calling her?” I glanced at my watch to see that it was a little aftermidnight.
“Of course, I did. She didn’t answer.”
“Maybe she’s with a friend?” The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, but I didn’t want Reagan to freak out more than she already was. I was trying to think of other possibilities when, in fact, the killer had probably grabbed Maddie thinking she was Reagan. They did look similar, just like mothers and daughters do as theyage.
“She doesn’t know anyone here, Ethan!” Reagan snapped. “Something is wrong. Do you—”
“Fuck,” I clipped. If the killer did take Maddie, we still didn’t know who we were dealing with, but I was seconds away from banging on the door of everyone who worked at Lakeshore University. I stood and started to pace as I spoke into the phone. “Do you want me to come home, or do you want me to find this asshole?”
“Both?”
