Page 56 of I Can't Even

“About twenty minutes ago,” he said. “A new account, very close to the last ten used, popped up a day and a half ago. He wasted no time finding his next victim. By the time we were able to comb through everything, he’d already gotten her out on a hike. Girl’s name is Sage Solomon. Five-foot-nine, one hundred and thirty-nine pounds. Brown eyes, blonde hair.”

“Wait, I thought that his victim profile was brunettes?” I asked in confusion.

“It is,” he confirmed. “But this girl makes wigs for a living. Accident in childhood made her lose her hair for a time. She’s passionate about giving back to those like her and started making wigs when she was eighteen. At thirty, this wig business is one of the biggest in the world. In the photo she had online, she was wearing a brown wig.”

“Shit,” I said. “And she was taken?”

“We think so,” he confirmed. “We have a BOLO—be on the lookout—for her now. Her parents have declared her missing.”

“Fuck,” I growled.

“I’ll keep you updated, but all this info should be circulating through the department now.” He paused. “Have you checked the dating app lately?”

My stomach clenched.

“I did last night,” I admitted.

“Check it now,” he said. “I’ll bet there was contact with his new username.”

Then he hung up, leaving me there to look at my phone.

I went into the dating app that Ellodie had installed for me and clicked on her messages.

I sorted through ten, one of which included a picture of his dick instead of a greeting of any kind, and stopped on the new username.

Hikesforfun.

Stomach clenching, I clicked on the message, and was unsurprised to see the words on the screen.

Hey, my name is Jonah. I’d like to get to know you better. How do you feel about coffee dates?

She probably would’ve gone on it a week ago.

But now I was there, and she’d never go on a first date again.

I’d be her last first date if I had any say in the matter.

Something sick and worried started to fill my chest.

What if I couldn’t protect her, though?

What if this sick fuck found a way to bypass her protection and take her anyway?

And why did the thought of seeing her hurt in any way scare the hell out of me?

Sometimes you just have to give yourself a pep talk. Hello, you badass bitch. How are you? Don’t be sad. You’re doing great.

—Ellodie’s secret thoughts

ELLODIE

“Why are you on prednisone?” I asked curiously, picking up the package and reading the prescription information.

Quaid blew out a breath. “I was running during a foot chase. When I got to a field, I guess I stepped awkwardly, and my Achilles tendon gave out. Ever since then, I’ve had a lot of swelling there, and the doctor I saw recommended I try prednisone to get the swelling down.”

My stomach clenched at the thought of him hurting in any way, let alone bad enough that he couldn’t walk.

I winced. “Ouch.”

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