Page 6 of All He Takes
"He could have more victims," Ken pointed out. "And the girls--they look a lot alike, don't they?"
"That's the danger here," Franco said. "This sicko could be preying on women who look very similar to each other... and we have to assume that he's going to take more."
Nicky chewed her lip as the men spoke. Her heart was racing, and she didn't know what to think. She was in charge of the team, and she felt like she was letting them down. She couldn't let them down... not now. She had to fight through these insecurities, now more than ever.
"We want you to find out what you can about these girls," Franco said. "Who they were, where they'd been last... anything you can get your hands on."
"We're all ears," Ken said.
"And we need you to keep this quiet," Amara said. "The media doesn't know about it yet. We don't want to give the killer any advantage."
Nicky nodded, taking it all in. "Understood."
"We'll keep you updated," said Franco, pointing at Nicky. "But Agent Lyons is the lead on this."
"Got it."
"I'm sorry it's so soon after the last girl," the chief said, "but this is a serious matter. I know the task force is having a hard time finding and saving these girls, but we need you to keep your eyes open. This killer--or killers--is getting bolder. We may have a serial killer on our hands."
Nicky felt the weight of the statement. As much as it discouraged her to know they'd already lost Paris Conner, she had to stay strong and continue being the head of this team. Not every mission had been a failure. But Nicky had to admit her self-confidence was taking a hit.
"You're dismissed," Chief Franco said. "Everything we currently know is in those files right there. Go over your game plan and head out."
With that, both the chief and Amara left the room. Nicky was left with Ken and Grace, who were all at a loss for words. Nicky chewed on her lip, feeling the weight of the pressure. Being a leader was never going to be an easy task—she knew that when she’d accepted the job, but sometimes… sometimes she just wished she had an “undo” button.
"Nicky?" Grace asked, and Nicky met her eyes. "You okay?"
Nicky forced a small smile. She could tell by the stern look on Ken's face that he was thinking the same thing as Grace—they could sense Nicky’s doubts in herself, no matter how hard she tried to look strong, and that made her feel uncomfortably vulnerable, even in front of Ken.
"I'm good," she said. "Let's just focus on finding this bastard as quickly as possible so we can save the rest of the girls on the list. We can't..." She took a breath. "We can't lose any more."
"We'll get him," Ken said. He grabbed the file and opened it. "Looks like the shop is in a small town about an hour north called Pine Grove. Lyons, what's our plan?"
She took a breath, going over it in her mind. "Grace, you stay here and stand by until we need you. Walker, you and I will head out."
"Where are we going first?" Ken asked.
Nicky stood up, her eyes lingering on those eerie Polaroid photos. "Let's start with the antique store."
CHAPTER THREE
Nicky took a breath as she drove, the open highway in front of her as they made their way through Northern Florida to Pine Grove. Ken was in the passenger seat going over the files, but they'd been quiet for some time. The sun was swollen in the mid-morning sky, but Nicky was feeling anything but peaceful.
She just wanted to get this case solved. The more time she had to drive, the more time she had to think about Paris Conner, and how Nicky had failed to find her before it was too late.
She knew she couldn't do anything about the past, but it was still so hard to accept that Paris was gone. Nicky didn't know the girl on a personal level—of course not—but she remembered what it was like to be kidnapped. She remembered how it was to feel alone and unsure. How hard it was to just look ahead. She remembered how terrifying it was, being under the total control of a madman.
Nicky wanted to save these girls, and she wanted to get the sick bastards who were doing this to them. She hated the idea of letting evil win. Those girls—they had lives, and they deserved to live them, not have them ripped away because of some delusional madman’s sick fantasies.
"You okay?" Ken asked.
Nicky looked over at him. "Yeah... just thinking."
"About what?"
"About the case," she said. "About the girls."
"I hear you," Ken said. "But don't let it get to you. We'll get the bastard who took Paris and the other girls. I can tell you’re feeling…”
