Page 68 of Royal
Phoenix grabbed his phone and scrolled through it, his brow drawn tight. “There’s a tornado watch in effect until nine tonight. This system seems to be moving quickly, though, so hopefully it passes soon.”
I appreciated him not saying anything about me being on edge. If I knew a storm was coming, I was normally okay. I definitely didn’t freeze up like a damn kid at a little thunder. But today, the shit had caught me by surprise, and now Phoenix had seen me lose my nerve. Great.
“When I was a kid, I was afraid of bodies of water,” Phoenix said in a conversational tone. “I watchedJaws,and afterward, I was terrified of sharks. So much so that I was even afraid to take baths, because my dad said Jaws could eat me that way, too.”
My lips twitched. “Really?”
He nodded. “Still don’t take baths to this day.”
I grinned and looked out the window. After a short silence, I said, “Thanks.”
He’d shared his story to make me feel better. He might’ve been somewhat of a hard-ass, but he was also a nice guy.
“There’s no shame in being afraid. It makes us human.” Phoenix walked over to the table and organized the papers. “We’ll look deeper into Lauren Parks’ past. Look at ex-boyfriends and anyone who fits the profile.”
I nodded, relieved to move on to another topic. A short time later, members from his team returned and updated him on their findings. The two locations Phoenix had asked them to search were empty, so we had more brainstorming to do. The storm increased in intensity, and the lights flickered again.
My phone dinged with a text.
Royal:Power just went out here bcuz of the storm. I think our whole block is out right now. Wbu?
Me:Lights flickered a little, but that’s all. You ok?
Royal:Yeah…just spooked. My first thought when the lights went off was that the killer was after us.
Me:He wouldn’t attack like that with so many ppl around. It’s ok.
I didn’t like that he was scared. Perhaps I was being silly for staying away from him. After all, he’d be much safer with me around than with me not.
“Can I get your opinion on something?” I asked Phoenix. He nodded. “If Ameinias plans to come after me, do you think he’d hurt anyone in my life? Family, friends, whatever? It’s been days since we’ve heard from him.”
“Hard to say,” he answered. “Judging from his past behavior, I don’t think it’s likely. He doesn’t kill just to kill, like, say, Bundy or H.H. Holmes. Ameinias kills because he sees the rejection from the victims as a deep betrayal, and the heartache drives him to murder. The whole‘if I can’t have you, no one can’ mindset.”
“So, the threat against me?”
“A scare tactic to keep you distracted. We can’t be too careful, though, which is why I’ve cautioned you to take the threat seriously.” The agent’s gaze darkened, and he looked away. “I’ve been wrong before.”
I was curious as to what he meant, but I didn’t ask him about it. No sense in re-opening old wounds.
Phoenix stopped telling me to go home once he realized I was a stubborn bastard who did what I wanted. And I had no intention of leaving him there at the station when there was so much more to do. With the new information to go over with Lauren Parks’ case, I insisted on staying and helping.
A couple of men from the list given to us by the Bellingham police department matched the names we’d run from people in the victim’s life. Before we got too excited, though, we realized one of them had been killed months ago in a gang-related shootout, and the other had been sent to prison nearly two years ago and was serving a life sentence. We were back to square one.
Around ten that night, I finally left the station.
The storm was nothing more than light rain, with only a faint rumbling of thunder in the distance. Royal should be getting off work soon, as well. They’d gotten the power back and had continued their broadcast. I’d caught a piece of his segment earlier and felt that familiar ache in my chest upon seeing him.
For his safety, I’ll stay away. At least for a while.
My phone rang, and I smiled when I saw his name appear on the screen.
“Hey, Charming.”
“Gray?” His panicked tone made the smile vanish from my face. “Brysen is staying with me for a few days, and he just called me, saying he saw someone in our backyard. He was pretty freaked out over it. I’m on my way home now, but I’m still on the other side of town. Can you come, too?”
I’d already changed direction and was heading to his house.
“I’m about a minute from your house now. I’ll get there before you do,” I said, keeping my voice as calm as possible. “Call Brysen and tell him I’ll be there soon.”
