Page 121 of Rear View
Fuck me.The thought of that had bile burning the back of my throat. “She’s careful.”
“I have no doubt. But she’s still vulnerable.” He shifted to lower his leg. “He got to her before. He’s obviously calculated. If he really wanted, he could do it again.”
My gut dropped. “He went to her place the other day.”
He inclined his head like I’d just made his point for him. “And stood across the road.” He patted his knee, his eyes narrowed in thought. “He’s getting something else out of this.”
The same things my dad got. “Power? Control?”
“Tops on the list, yes.”
“So, he gets off on havin’ her scared.”
“It makes sense.” He scanned the documents again. “Your best option is to figure out his method. What’s her routine? Where does she spend her time? And who does she spend it with? Whoever this is, he’s obviously good with tech. Judging what he knows, he’s either close enough in her circle to get information, or he’s hacking her devices.”
My fists clenched so hard, my skin creaked, ’cause he’d done at least one of those. “She needs a phone, Juan.” Christ. The thought of her without it…
“Get her a new one. A burner. She shouldn’t tell anyone but her emergency contacts that she has it. Get something basic. No camera. Just text and call.”
“And the one she’s got now?”
“Keep it. This guy will notice if it’s gone. The chances a young woman her age wouldn’t have something,especiallyif she’s being stalked, isn’t realistic. He’ll either get pissed or suspicious. It could push him to act again.”
If it’d been happening to me, I’d have played that card to flush the asshole out. But it wasn’t, so I’d never take that gamble.
Castillo tapped the evidence with the tip of his nail. “Whoever this is, Xavier, they’re careful. He knows what he’s doing. He went from emails, to texts, to calls, to an attack. His behavior’s escalated over time. Heiscapable of more.”
My spine locked up. “You think it’ll get worse?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Psychology’s not my expertise, but I’ve seen these cases on the back end for years. My guess is, yes.”
I pushed up and stalked the space, dragging a hand along the back of my neck and through my hair. “What if I brought her public? The more eyes on her, the harder it’ll be for him to get to her?”
“Maybe. Or it could just tick him off. Make him feel like he’s losing that control.” He scratched his chin. “What about moving?”
I’d considered it. Take her and get the hell outta Edgewater. I hated the idea of running. Preferred to face stuff head-on, but for her, I’d do it, no questions asked. Only issue was… “My face is out there. We’ll be easy to track.”
He inclined his head.
So catching the guy was priority one. I didn’t wantRyah looking over her shoulder the rest of her life, wondering if he was coming. Terrified of every stranger’s face.
I leaned a shoulder against the wall and crossed my legs at the ankles. “I can’t let anything happen to her, Castillo. I fuckin’ can’t.”
He wrung his hands. “Look, I’ll take it to a judge. See if we get lucky. But don’t hold your breath.”
I stared down at my feet, hands flexing over and over. Lifting my head slowly, I pinned him with my stare. “Don’t let the fuckin’ system fail her too.”
Standing, he came around the desk. “It will, Xavier.” He walked to the closest chair and sat on its arm, facing me. “From the court’s perspective, she doesn’t know who he is. They can’t just grant warrants to do en masse searches. Never mind that no one canproveall of these events are the same guy, which means they legally can’t be linked.”
“So, protect him before he hurts her, andifshe’s still breathin’ on the other side of it, put her through hell again to show he’s the one that did it, yeah?” I looked away. “It’s the shit with my old man all over.” The muscles along my forearms corded. “The hellarethe options, then?”
“She’s exercised them already.” His grip on the chair tightened. “Does she have the original emails?”
“Yeah. Saved it all.”
“Good. Unless this guy messes up and reveals himself, don’t expect much on this end.”
“’Cause the system ain’t built to preempt.” I thumped the side of my fist against the wall.
