Page 123 of Watch Me Burn
I glance out the window to my right. She’s only half a mile away from me, through those trees, but the distance feels immense.
“So, I have an update on Caleb Hunter.”
“Did you find the fucker?” I snarl at the mention of Luna’s fuck of an ex. “It’s been over almost a month since he threatened her.”
“Negative. He knows how to stay off the grid. But we got a hit this morning. The trace I set up running facial rec on all traffic cameras in Colorado caught him for about three seconds heading into the Eisenhower Tunnel.”
“East or west?”
“East.”
“So he’s heading this way?”
“It would seem so, but the camera at the east exit of the tunnel is out of order, so that’s where we lost him. But he’s not in that fancy car of his. It was a beat-up red pickup. That’s probably why we haven’t been able to track him. He’s not using his own vehicle.”
My pulse quickens, and cold fury washes over me, the familiar darkness rising like a tide.
“How this fucker has evaded us for this long is pissing me off, Cade. What good are our systems if we can’t track one fucking piece of shit? I want him found. Tonight.”
“Already on it. But Damien—” Cade hesitates. “We need to consider that he might try to approach her again.”
“Luna’s entire property is monitored.”
“That didn’t stop you from getting to her every night for months,” he points out with infuriating logic.
“That’s because I could shut off the cameras whenever I wanted to. They’re on all the time now that she kicked me out and told me not to come back. And I never intended to hurt her.” I slide into protection mode. “Reposition one of the satellites so it monitors her property twenty-four-seven.”
Caleb Hunter will get near her again over my dead fucking body.
“Consider it done. I’m going to have to clean up a hell of a mess, aren’t I?”
“Yes. He’s a threat to her, and you know it.”
He exhales, long and slow, the sound heavy with the knowledge of what’s coming. “Are you going to tell her about it?”
The word “no” is on my tongue, but if I’m going to earn back her trust, I have to learn to be honest with her, even when it might worry her.
Fuck!
“I will. I’m going to try to see her tonight.”
“And about the space she asked for?”
“I agreed to that before Caleb Hunter crawled out of his hole. Her space is going to be encroached on whether she likes it or not until he’s found and dealt with.”
Cade chuckles as he gets up to leave. “Good luck with that one.”
Once he’s gone, I try to work, but concentration eludes me. Every few minutes, I find myself checking the sanctuary’s camera feeds, watching Luna move through her afternoon routine. She looks tired, dark circles shadowing those beautiful hazel eyes. I saw them when she was here earlier. She hasn’t been sleeping either.
I grab my phone and send her a text.
Me
I know you want space, but there's something else we need to talk about. Can Icome by later?
It feels like a lifetime passes before my phone buzzes with a reply.
Luna
