Page 69 of Last Resort

“Okay,” Chance said. They would have to follow up on that. He may not have gone to the doctor’s appointment at all or it could’ve been very short. It was inconclusive at this point.

“Third date, Rich was not working again.”

Chance grabbed his phone, ready to contact Weston. They were three for three with Rich, and Chance was sure LeBlanc was about to say the same for the date of the fourth murder they’d found.

They needed to be ready to move. Brax and Luke had the same tense body language Chance did.

“Okay, date four.” LeBlanc clacked on his keyboard. “Oh, I could’ve given this to you earlier. Rich was with me the whole day that day in Los Angeles.”

Chance’s brow furrowed. “Are you sure?”

LeBlanc nodded as he looked up from his screen. “Yes, I remember it now. Half the office and Stella had that stupid virus. Rich was one of the few who tested negative, so he came with me to the opening of a new LeBlanc office branch there. He was acting as part personal assistant, part pretty boy for the press and part security.”

Chance spun to face Luke. “What was the time on the fourth case?”

“Midafternoon, Texas time.”

Chance looked back at LeBlanc. “You’re absolutely sure Rich was with you that whole day? He didn’t take a later flight or something?”

“I’m positive. I remember because we were almost late. Flying at that time during the height of the pandemic was problematic, even on a private plane.”

Brax handed Chance his phone. Pulled up on it was the press report of the office opening. It had been a bold move on LeBlanc’s part, considering most people were working from home, with no indication of returning any time soon.

There was Rich, smiling beside LeBlanc. The footage was time-stamped in a way that meant it was impossible that Rich had killed the fourth woman. When they looked further into the first three, they’d likely find the same thing.

Chance’s jaw ached at how hard he was clenching it. Rich was a smug bastard, but he wasn’t the killer.

“So, does all this information help you with your theory?” LeBlanc asked.

Brax and Luke looked as frustrated as Chance felt.

“Yes,” he finally managed to say. Eliminating suspects was an important step to solving anything. But that didn’t make Chance feel any better.

“Then can I ask exactly what this is about? What theseother casesyou’re referring to are?”

Luke recovered quickest. “We’ve come across some disturbing facts, and we need to gather more information before we give you details. For now, let’s keep this conversation between us, please.”

Chance was trying to wrap his head around the fact that they would have to start back at square one when Dorian entered LeBlanc’s office.

“I saw you guys on the door roster. Has there been a breakthrough in the case?”

Nobody answered. Neither Chance nor his brothers wanted to mention the wordsserial killerin front of LeBlanc.

It was LeBlanc who finally took charge. “Evidently, there is some sort of breakthrough but nobody wants to tell me what it is.”

Brax tried his charming smile. “Only because we want to make certain of a few things first.”

They were about to get fired, Chance could feel it. That was the last thing they needed. Access to information surrounding Stella was going to be critical.

Dorian came to their rescue. “Nicholas, sometimes security teams have to work in ways that don’t make sense to the client. You and I had to learn that about each other early on. Let them do the job you hired them for.”

“Fine.” LeBlanc threw up a hand. “Take them to the conference room and help them with whatever they need. I have a business to run.”

Once they were in the conference room, they explained the situation. They were going to need Dorian’s help to catch this bastard.

Dorian sat down hard in one of the plush leather chairs as he took it all in. “Holy hell. We’re dealing with a serial killer, not just a stalker?”

They gave him a little time to process it. They’d all felt the same way.

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