Page 119 of Can You Take It?

I sit up, rubbing the back of my neck, and look around the room. It’s empty. Izel’s gone. The table across from me catches my eye, my phone buzzing incessantly. I reach for it and see thirty-eight missed calls from Wilson and ten each from Noah and Emily. Shit.

I call Wilson back, knowing I need to get my ass in gear. He picks up on the first ring.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

“Got held up,” I lie, attempting to sound more coherent than I feel. “What’s going on?”

“Get to the warehouse now. Your team has found a body. I shouldn’t be their first point of contact for these petty issues, Reynolds.”

“I’m on my way.”

I shove my phone into my pocket and look around for my stuff. Everything’s where Izel said it would be. My wallet, badge, and gun are on the table, right where she left them. I grab them quickly, strapping the holster back on and tucking my badge into my jacket.

I call for a cab. While waiting, I catch a glimpse of myself in the cracked mirror on the wall. There’s a fresh bandage on my head. Great. I’m not sure how I’m going to explain that, so I start removing the bandage, wincing as I feel the sting of the wound underneath. The bleeding has thankfully stopped, but it still hurts like hell. I grit my teeth and get rid of the bandage, inspecting the damage. It’s not pretty, but it’s manageable.

I finally reach the warehouse and find the place swarming with agents. The crime scene tape is up. I push my way through, flashing my badge.

“Where the hell were you?” Emily asks.

“Had a zoom meeting with the director,” I lie, brushing it off. “It’s nothing. What’ve we got here?”

Noah gives me a skeptical look but lets it go. “You need to see this for yourself.”

They lead me to the backside of the warehouse, where the body lies. It’s the guy Izel stabbed. The scene is brutal—twenty-seven stab wounds.

“Whoever did this was fucking angry,” Noah mutters.

No shit. Izel’s rage flashes in my mind. She’s always had a fire in her, but this? This is an inferno.

Emily steps up, looking grim. “We also found Izel’s car next to the body.”

My heart skips a beat. “Did you find anything in there?”

She nods, handing me a clear evidence bag with Izel’s phone inside. “Found her phone.”

I take the bag from her and pull out the phone, unlocking it quickly. The screen lights up with notifications and messages. I navigate to her chat history, scrolling through until a name catches my eye: Martin.

He’s Izel’s cousin, the same guy who’s been hovering on the edges of this case. But I can’t let on that I know him, not yet.

The conversation is easy, almost casual. It pisses me off more than it should. I can’t stand the thought of her being so relaxed with some guy while my head is spinning with everything that’s happened.

“Find out everything you can about this Martin guy.”

Noah nods and gets to work immediately, leaving me alone with the phone. I scroll through the chat and see a picture of Luna tied up and unconscious, with a text that reads,“Job done.”This is from the same night I took Izel out to dinner. The same last night where I had everything planned out—a future with her, a life I thought we could build together.

Noah looks up from his laptop. “Got something. Martin Montclair isn’t just some random guy. He’s Izel’s cousin.”

“Her cousin?” I feign confusion.

“Yeah,” Noah continues, “He owns a tech company. They specialize in cybersecurity and some cutting-edge tech shit. And get this, he’s been off the grid for a while. No recent social media activity, no public appearances. It’s like he’s vanished.”

I rub my temples, absorbing this new information. “So, Martin’s got the tech background, the means to stay hidden, and a connection to Izel. That’s one hell of a coincidence.”

“It’s more than a coincidence, man. They’re tied together, and if Izel is the Ghostface Striker, there’s a high possibility this Martin guy could be protecting her.”

It’s an amateur conclusion, sure, but it’s something. And in this clusterfuck of a situation, anything is better than nothing.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” I exhale. “But it’s definitely worth looking into. What else do you have on him?”

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