Page 37 of Make You Mine

My reactions to her don’t make sense and the sudden attraction is beyond my comprehension, but I don’t doubt it either. Something about her calls to me. To my innermost caveman-like tendencies where the need to provide safety and care supersedes all else.

“And the other girl?” I ask, trying to remain calm. To not show just how far I’ll go for her if need be. “Has she been found?”

As of late last night, they’re looking into Karla and asking the public to come forward if she’s seen. So far, the missing persons report has been spread from Texas to the West Coast.

Cap shakes his head, lips pursed. “No. Not a damn sign of her. Not so much as a bogus call.”

“That’s not his usual style, though.” Rubbing my eyes, I sit back and take a sip from my own lukewarm coffee as I work through the chaos in my mind. I’m not seeing something, missing what could be a vital piece of information, and it’s eating at me. “Her pictures are everywhere now, along with his mugshot. Why tempt fate and be seen?”

“What are you thinking?” His question forces my eyes back to the morbid shots on the table.Hiskills. “From the very first victim to the penultimate, they all follow a certain pattern. Upper body bruising, a deep gash across the chest, and his thumbprints embedded deep into their jugular. Each body lies face up and straight, with their hands intertwined over their abdomens and painted red with their own blood. That, and the cuts. It’s almost like a painter with the strokes of a brush.”

“All but?—”

“The last,” I finish for him. Picking up Sarah’s photo, I point out that this kill seems rushed. Unsatisfactory for him. There’s anger in the way she was just left behind with a broken neck.

“How many know about the contents of the email I sent you? Are we exchanging that information with San Antonio and Dallas?” Pushing my chair back, I stand and begin pacing the room. Scenarios play out in my mind, each one leading me back to his first kill. “What about the team here or Arizona?”

“It’s a combined effort, but mainly the two Texas departments.”

“Check relationships. Ripley had or has friends and a family. We need to figure out if any of them have a connection to someone on the force.”

“You think they know Ava personally? Maybe from their childhood?”

“Everything is possible...” I trail off as my cell phone suddenly vibrates atop the table. My landline flashes across the screen, and I grab the device, pressing accept, but I’m too late.

“What’s going?—”

“Ava.” That’s all I give Captain Perez before taking off, my finger pressing the redial button when it vibrates again. “I’m almost there,” I say, pulling the door to the stairway open; it bangs against the wall with a loud clang as I take each step two at a time. “Are you hurt? Someone at the door?”

The last is almost impossible with how I watched the entryways, and my app shows no movement there, but I can never rule anything out. As long as she doesn’t open the door, she’s safe.

“It’s probably nothing...” there’s a self-deprecating laugh that follows, and it carries a hint of panic “...but you said to tell you if anything creeped me out. I’m sorry if I’m bothering you while you work, but?—”

“You can always call me. No matter the reason.” Behind me, the sound of footsteps running up is loud and heavy but much slower. My head turns slightly, just enough to catch sight of Perez bounding up with arms full of files.

“Thank you.” There’s a pause and then a huff. As if she’s annoyed with herself. “Someone called the house and he said my name, and it just felt…off. Didn’t sit right.”

“What did they say?” Opening the door to my floor, I rush through and run toward my apartment. “Name?”

“An Officer Denis Meyers.”The fuck.My hand punches the nearest wall, and a chunk of plaster falls to the floor. I don’t say anything, my mind whirling in different directions. Looking at every possibility. “Are you there?”

“Open the door.” It leaves me on a harsh growl as I stop, hand on the casing. Ava squeaks on the other end but doesn’t hang up, instead, she keeps me on the line while walking my way and then pausing on the other side.

I can feel her presence through the heavy wood.

Feel her eyes on my skin through the peephole.

“Look up, please.” I do as she asks, and the turning of a lock follows. Ava opens the door to let me in and as our eyes meet, the tightness around her features softens. “You didn’t have to rush back, Eli. It’s just that I was under the impression that only you and Captain?—”

“No one else knows, Ava.”

“He’s right,” Captain says, a little out of breath from behind me. My hands clench at my sides, the effort to not pull her close and lock us away almost maddening. “Your location has been kept a secret from everyone in our precinct working this case. No one outside of myself and Detective Ford should have that phone number, much less know you’re here.”

My eyes are on hers as he speaks, taking in her body language—ready to step in if she’s afraid of the unknown male moving past us and entering my home. Something I realize rather quickly is unnecessary.

I don’t miss the way she gives him a small smile.

No cowering back. No distrust. Almostfamiliar.

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