Page 47 of Holy Sinner

“This is bad,” Rafe tells me and all I do is nod. He’s right but he’s wrong too. It’s not bad, it’s worse than that. It’s terrifying, because Kit’s missing. What if she’s the reason people are up right now? It’s early, the sky is starting to turn light with the telltale signs of sunrise. Not at all the normal hour for people to be awake the way that they are. Not when we have a day of filming to catch up on and everyone turned in early in preparation of it.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I keep my tone neutral, concerned but not overly so. Not like I’m about to fucking lose my shit if I don’t see Kit in the next second.

“It’s Jane,” one of the guys calls to me but I can tell he’s trying to keep his voice low. It doesn't matter though, because when he speaks the woman that’s crying starts to sob.

Rafe grabs my shoulder and drags me forward so we’re closer but I keep an eye on the crying woman. She stands shakily from her chair and I see her face. She’s the makeup artist that does Kit’s makeup sometimes. I’ve heard Kit say her name a few times, even though I don’t use it.

“Alexia. Wait, please,” the woman with her calls out to her but Alexia doesn’t listen. She runs straight for the lodge and slams the door behind her.

“She found blood in Jane’s room,” someone whispers.

“That’s so fucking fucked man. There was so much blood, I fucking saw it. There’s no way she’s alive.”

Rafe goes still beside me, it’s not noticeable to anyone just looking at him but I know him. I know him inside and out, so I track the movement and look his way. His eyes are on the lodge but a second later they come to me. I see the question there.

Was it you?

I narrow my eyes and grab his shoulder, dig my fingers in and squeeze. Hell no, it wasn’t fucking me.

Before I shoved a knife through that photographer’s head it had been months since I’d done shit. The urge had been there, quietly rising up when I saw a mark that was deserving, but I didn’t do a thing because I had Kit. I knew how it would make Kit feel if I killed someone so I beat that urge back and focused on the good she brought to me.

Rafe had gone even longer than me without acting, but he had a pattern too. This wasn’t it. Killing a defenseless girl and leaving a goddamn mess. The man was meticulous in what he did. It aggravated me with how high and mighty he was about it but he never left evidence behind. There’s no way he was going to start by bleeding Jane out for someone to find.

This was someone new hunting in our territory.

Chapter Twenty-Four

RAFE

Igrab Grant’s arm and pull him with me. He said he didn’t fucking off Jane, but if he didn’t do it then that means we’ve got a bigger problem than him not being able to control his fucking self. There’s another killer helping themselves to our patch and Kit’s missing. It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

“We have to find her. Now.”

There’s activity in the lodge and the door opens to reveal Holly. She’s got a flashlight in her hand and she’s fully kitted out like she’s about to head into the wilderness for a week.

“We have alerted the authorities and the local search and rescue team is on the way but in the name of time, we will be going into the forest to search for Jane,” Holly pauses and swallows hard. “With the amount of blood in Jane’s suite there’s-there’s reason to believe that foul play was involved. As of now, we have not located her on the premises nor have we been able to find her on the CCTVs on the property. Our best place to start searching is south of the cabins where Will saw her last,” she says, gesturing to one of the sound guys. “Will is going to show us the way now. If you’d like to join the search you’re welcome to come along. Aubrey will be passing out whistles and flashlights for anyone that wants to help.” A woman appears at her side with whistles draped over one arm and a reusable shopping bag over the other that I assume has flashlights in it, with the way she holds it out to be people who come forward.

“Didn’t take her long to fill Jane’s spot,” Grant mutters. It’s true but I don’t respond. I just hold out my hand and take a whistle and a flashlight from Aubrey because it’s the right response. The entire time I watch Will.

He looks worried when Holly singles him out and nods, but his body language screams fear. Shoulders rolled forward, head down, chin tucked into his chest and hands in his pockets. He doesn’t want to be here and every step he takes down the path that leads us back to the cabin gives me more proof. He walks faster, glancing out at the dark cabins we pass like someone might jump out at him. When we pass cabin number 4, he stares a little too long.

“Where’s Kit?” Holly asks. She’s walking beside Will and looks back at us with a raised eyebrow.

“Sleeping,” Grant lies easily and flicks on his flashlight to scan the area ahead of us. “We heard the commotion but didn’t want to scare her.”

Holly nods. “I hope we can have you back before she wakes up. This is all…well, it’s a terrifying mess.”

I nod and Grant agrees with a sympathetic hum. He’s playing the part of the concerned hero perfectly. I know my role all too well so I keep my mouth shut and stick close to him. Everyone knows what we are to each other but everyone also knows that I’m not the hero. That I don’t give a fuck about a lot.

I’m here because he’s here, that’s it.

I watch the group we’re with as we walk. Some are walking twos and threes, heads together and whispering as they go. Some of the men call out Jane’s name as we walk but no one leaves the path. Everything seems normal but if the killer isn’t with us, they’re watching us. There’s no way they aren’t right now. This is the ultimate fucking wet dream to a murderer. I consider the faces around us again but there’s no one pulling my attention. No one but Will, who still shuffles forward with quick steps. Every few steps he takes he looks over his shoulder and I see him look at Grant and I.

Yup, Will is setting off my alarm bells like a motherfucker. Why was he watching our cabin so closely? Does he know Kit is gone?

We come to a stop when we hit the trees and almost like they don’t know what else to do, the group turn to look at Grant, because he’s the closest thing they have to a leader. He realizes it the second they do and steps forward with a reassuring smile. He’s wearing a workout tee and a pair of boxer briefs, but it’s as good as his Iron Shield costume right now with the way he starts giving orders.

“We’ll fan out from here. Everyone stand next to each other. Link arms and walk the area in a straight line. We have to make a grid to make sure we don’t miss anything. Nobody goes alone, do you understand me?” When he gets nods and a few murmurs of yes, he goes on, “I want you to blow your whistle if you find Jane or anything that might show us the direction she went. Don’t leave that spot, just stay there blowing your whistle until we get to you.”

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