Page 24 of Twisted Devil

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

JASON

I scrubbed my hands over my face and took a deep breath. The past six days had been sheer hell, driven by desperation and fueled by determination. I fucking hated kid cases. The most recent victim in a series of child abductions and murders, ten-year-old Jade Sommers had been kidnapped from her home a week ago. The screen on her bedroom window had been sliced open, and she'd been taken from her bed in the middle of the night.

We'd apprehended the suspect, but Jade... The damage had been done. She'd made it to the hospital but died just hours later. I would never get the sight of her broken body out of my mind. George Studebaker, a janitor at the mall where Jade’s mother worked, had admitted to raping and assaulting Jade, as well as three other young girls over the past eight months.

This was the worst part of my job—seeing the absolute worst of humanity, watching evil walk the earth, completely unrepentant. He'd taken Jade’s innocence and ultimately her life. I wanted to tear him apart piece by piece, do to him exactly what he'd done to those little girls. We'd finally wrapped up the case yesterday, but as much as I missed Chloe, I couldn't bring myself to go to her. My emotions were still too raw; I wasn't in a good place. I'd begged off, promising to take her to dinner tonight instead.

The clock was creeping closer and closer to five o'clock, and I knew I'd have to get ready soon to go pick her up. I needed to get out of the house and forget about work for awhile. Because the longer I sat here dwelling on it, the angrier I became. My job was a huge stressor, and I could feel it putting a strain on my relationship with Chloe. Weeks like the one I’d just had put me in a dark place, and I usually needed several days to recover.

Typically when I felt like this I wanted to push everyone away, retreat into my own head. But this time, I wanted to see Chloe, to surround myself with her goodness and try to push all the bad shit to the back of my mind.

I leaned back in my chair and stared sightlessly at the desktop in front of me. My email sat open, untouched, and I sighed at the list of unread messages. I began to click through them, mostly junk, when one caught my eye. The name sounded familiar, and curiosity got the better of me as I opened it.

Connor Quentin identified himself as a former Marine who was currently assembling people from all branches of the military to form a private security firm. Quentin Security Group was based out of Dallas, Texas and they were currently looking for someone with both combat experience as well as a computer science background. An old friend had apparently passed my name along, and Con wondered if I would be interested in learning more or coming for a visit.

The thought was damn tempting, especially after the past week. Except... Chloe was here, and she meant more to me than anything. I wouldn't give her up. I was flattered that he'd offered, and the job sounded like a dream. I stared at the email for several minutes before finally closing it out without responding. It'd already sat in my inbox for more than a week; no doubt he'd already found someone else.

I pushed from the chair and strode into the bathroom, then flipped on the shower. I turned my mind to Chloe as I stepped under the spray, counting down the minutes until I could see her again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHLOE

Dinner was fairly tense. Though I was excited to see Jason after a week apart, I knew something was bothering him. I wondered if it had something to do with the recent case he'd been working. The lines around the edges of his eyes and mouth were tight, his shoulders slumped slightly forward as if the weight of the world rested on them.

Sympathy seized me as I stared across the table at him. I could only imagine how he felt. I had experienced it firsthand when I was kidnapped, but Jason did this day after day, dealing with disappointing blows more often than not. I knew the feeling of not helping the victims weighed heavily on him. I wished there was something I could say, something I could do to make it better. But I of all people knew how hard it was to accept those words of encouragement. All I could do was stand beside him, silently support him as he sorted out his emotions.

All I wanted to do was go home, show him without words how much he meant to me. “Are you ready?”

Jason offered me a wan smile that didn't reach his eyes. “Sure.”

The bill had already been paid, so I grabbed my purse from the chair beside me then slung it over my shoulder and stood. Even distracted, Jason was always attentive to me. He settled one hand on the small of my back and guided me through the maze of tables to the front door. A small crowd of people who’d just entered blocked the front door, and I stood off to the side, waiting for them to disperse before exiting.

An older, heavyset man stared intently at me. I still didn't like the way people paid attention to me, and I flashed him a quick smile before averting my eyes, hoping he wouldn't recognize me. No such luck.

A moment later, he was right in front of me. “You're Chloe Danvers, right?”

“I…” My throat closed up, unable to speak.

He didn’t wait for my response as he shoved his phone in my face. “I’m Karl Nelson from the Tribune,” he greeted. “How do you feel about the trial? Were you pleased with the outcome?”

I stared blankly at him for several seconds. “I… I guess, yeah.”

“Excuse us.” Jason’s strong, steady voice came from behind me, and his fingers pressed gently into the flesh of my back.

The reporter stepped even closer. “You testified that he tried to sexually assault you, but you fended him off. How did you manage that?”

I’d been trying so hard to put all of that behind me; the last thing I wanted to do was rehash all of those dirty details, especially in front of a dozen other people. I could feel their eyes on me, staring, judging, and my skin flashed hot as my pulse accelerated.

“Don't say a word,” Jason spoke low in my ear as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I could hear the thread of tension in his voice, like he was trying desperately to maintain his composure, as he directed his next statement to the group of people milling around. “Excuse us, please.”

I quickly scanned the crowd for an opening, but I was trapped. Jason maneuvered me so I was behind him, partially obscuring the view of the group gathered near the doors, but they seemed to surround me, stealing all the oxygen in the room. I felt their gazes on me, curious and penetrating, and I clutched at Jason’s shirt.

Undaunted, Karl tried to lean around Jason’s broad form. “None of the other women managed to escape. How were you so lucky?”

The question struck me like a dagger. It was the same thing I’d asked myself a thousand times. I had no idea why I’d survived when he could have just as easily raped and killed me as he had the others. I still remembered the smell of the dank cellar, saw the bloodstains on the mattress… Felt Wainwright’s hands and mouth crawling over my body.

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