Page 58 of Not This Soon

Rachel leaned forward, her breath catching in her throat. "Zoom in," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Get me that license plate."

The security guard's fingers flew across the keyboard, the image on the screen expanding to fill the frame. Rachel squinted, her eyes locked on the pixelated numbers and letters as they came into focus.

"G...T...4..." she read aloud, her voice taut with tension. "That's all I can make out. The rest is too blurry."

Ethan scribbled the partial plate number on his notepad, his brow furrowed in concentration. "It's not much, but it's a start," he said. "We can run it through the database, see if anything comes up."

Rachel nodded, her mind already racing ahead to the next step. She pulled out her phone, her fingers dialing the familiar number of the dispatch center.

"This is Ranger Blackwood," she said, her voice crisp and authoritative. "I need an APB put out immediately. Suspect is a white male, average height and build, last seen wearing a red baseball cap. Driving a green sedan with a partial plate of GT4. Consider him armed and dangerous."

She ended the call, her heart still pounding in her chest. It wasn't much to go on, but it was more than they'd had a fewminutes ago. And in a case like this, every scrap of information was precious.

Rachel turned to the security team, her expression grim. "I want copies of all this footage," she said. "Every angle, every camera. We need to go through it with a fine-toothed comb, see if there's anything else we missed."

The guards nodded, already moving to comply with her request.

This was their killer.

He was still out there… She could only hope he wasn’t on the hunt again. When predators like this got a taste for blood, they never stopped hunting.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Father knew they’d find the muggers’ bodies soon. They had already stumbled upon Eleanor.

“I did what had to be done,” he whispered under his breath.

Now, he stood on the dune, his scope pressed against his eye as he peered at the responding officers near the spot he’d left Eleanor.

“Don’t disturb her rest,” he whispered under his breath, feeling his voice catch. He let out a slow, leaking sigh. His eyes were laden with unshed tears. How much had he already wept?

He released a slow, pent-up breath. His desire tohelpwas only growing. At least, that’s what he wanted to call it.

Helping.

But as he murmured a soft prayer under his breath, he also knew he wantedmore.To enjoy what came next. The pleasure of it.

It all mattered to him.

He grinned to himself, flashing his teeth in the dark as he steadied his scope, viewing the police officers moving about at the crime scene.

“Who else needs my help?” he whispered.

The cool desert breeze rustled through the sparse brush around him, his ATV's engine humming impatiently. The lights from the crime scene illuminated the barren landscape, casting long, eerie shadows that danced in the night.

His gaze never left the lens of his scope. He watched as a woman - Ranger Blackwood, he presumed - moved among the chaos. He’d seen her leave and then return. She was the one who’d harassed Grant and Morris.

His lips curled. He knew pain. Knew suffering. Her sharp features and stern demeanor were unmistakable, even at a distance.

His lips curled into a smirk. Here was someone who thought she was in control. Someone who thought she could bring him to justice.

He would prove her wrong.

His gaze shifted, scanning the perimeter of the crime scene. Where was the next one? Where was his next victim? The excitement bubbled within him, a dark thrill that coursed through his veins.

"Who else?" he murmured again, almost to himself. His fingers traced over the weapon in his hand, feeling its familiar weight and cold touch.

In the distance, he saw a group of officers huddled together, their anxious faces barely visible under their hats and helmets. A flicker of movement caught his eye - a man walking alone towards his car parked on a secluded road.

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