Page 6 of Rooster

"Not even a phone number?" Heathen asks, sitting up and leaning further over the table.

I can't even imagine what's going through his head.

Kaylee was traumatized last night, and he has to feel helpless right now.

"The number she was getting texts from is a burner phone. We did some minimal triangulation of where he was texting her from, but it didn't provide any personal information."

"I fucking hate burner phones," Bandera snaps, his hands clenched into fists on top of the table.

"It seems he went super stalker on her very quickly. He texted her within an hour of them exchanging numbers outside of that restaurant," I explain.

"She didn't find that creepy?" Twisted asks, and I can hear the judgment in his tone, as if he can't believe a woman would be okay with getting a text from a guy she just met.

I don't have much experience with women. My job doesn't really allow for it, but isn't the point of dating to get to know the other person? If he didn't text, then how else would they jump-start any form of communication?

"I haven't spoken with her," I tell him."What I do know is that she texted back, and it wasn't to tell him to leave her alone. This all escalated from that one text until, I guess, the argument on her front porch the other day."

I pull up images I got from gaining access to Morgan's phone and move them so the guys can see them on the television screen hanging on the far wall.

They're quite explicit almost immediately, and I had to blur out some of the graphic images Morgan sent to the guy.

"Jesus," Bandera mumbles as he looks away.

"I’ll need to speak with her before we know more, but I can tell you that whoever this guy is, he's good at what he's doing. He's very capable of hiding in the shadows and making himself known only to others when he wants it to happen," I explain.

"Was the first meeting even by chance?" Twisted asks with a scowl on his face.

"I'm not so sure it was," I answer honestly. "I've traced some of her steps, and as easily as he hid his face from the cameras during the instances that we know of, I've found several more videos prior to their first meeting at the restaurant where there's a shadow of a man. It's very possible he placed himself there to be seen by her exactly when he wanted it to happen."

Finding that made me realize this may be a lot more sinister than we initially thought. What the guy has done has taken a lot of planning and forethought. Most criminals slip up somewhere or don't consider something that eventually gets them caught. From what I can tell so far, this guy has been very meticulous.

"When did he first show up?" Bandera asks.

"The day we got to Vegas," I answer. "At least from what I can tell."

"So it can't be related to Cerberus, right?" Twisted asks. "This for sure isn't from Tkachenko's crew."

"It doesn't look like it is," I supply. "But we're still working different angles to make sure. On that note, Tkachenko and Vasilev have both been released from jail."

"What the fuck?" Heathen snaps.

"They were being held on EPA violations, and the jails are overrun with violent criminals. The judge didn't consider them a danger to others," I remind him.

"They had the proof of trafficking from their raid on his house and the house where the girls were living," Heathen snaps.

"They had speculation, but not one woman has stepped forward to make allegations about him hurting them and forcing them into marriage," I say, feeling just as annoyed at what is happening where those bastards are concerned.

"Bail was posted at ten million dollars for each of them, which was the best the judge could do. I'm looking into any links between the judge and the organization. But so far, I haven't found anything suggesting that particular judge is on their payroll," I say as I look in Heathen's direction. "There isn't a bug moving on this property that I don't know about. Kaylee and Morgan are safe here."

"Who’s sitting on those two pieces of shit right now?" Bandera asks.

"Whiskey got in last night," I say.

"Who?" Heathen growls.

"Spencer Blanton," I explain. "He's the newest member of Cerberus Vegas. He's watching Vasilev and Tkachenko for us right now."

"My wife is here," Heathen growls.

---