Page 5 of Keeping Ava

“We don’t know if he’s heading this way, sir. He doesn’t know she’ll be here.”

“Unfortunately, we have reason to believe Jason has a tracker on her. Someone trailing her movements. That, and both departments are stretched thin looking for this asshole.”

“Then plant a decoy and send her far away. Alaska if necessary.”

“That’s another area I have no control over.”

“What does that mean?” There’s an icy edge to my voice, and I flex my jaw to keep in a few expletives.

“It means that we do our job and keep that girl safe,” he says, matching my tone. We know how this goes. To what lengths officials will go to catch a criminal, even using someone as bait if necessary.

“Understood.” This is utter bullshit, more so knowing nothing I do will change her coming here. So instead of losing my temper, I grab the file. Flipping open the first page, I read the basic information on the perp, and at once, that same feeling of unease fills me.

The new details give me a small glimpse into her nightmare.

Accused: Jason Ripley

Age: 25

Born: Lubbock, Texas.

Occupation:Owns a small lawn company.

Lives: Lubbock, Texas (Prior address is from San Diego where he resided for eight months and then moved back while evading the SDPD.)

Currently Lives: One street from the witness’s home. (Shrine found in the master bedroom’s closet with pictures of Ava Perry in various scenarios: some in public, and others in the privacy of her home.)

Closing the folder, I sit back and meet his stare, fighting to control the sudden rush of ire that’s flowing through my system. I’m angry for her. “They have to know he’s desperate—that he’s coming for her in a place he’s familiar with, and that having lived here and escaping our chase, gives him an edge.”

He gives me a pointed look. “Yet on the same note, it has a few advantages. The first being the detective that almost caught him and knows how he operates.” Perez reaches over and picks up his cup of coffee, taking a quick sip. “That’s what makes you the only person I trust with her life.”

“I still don’t like it—”

“He has to get through a few states and a lot of people, including you, to get to Miss Ava Perry. Those women—all those young lives taken—deserve justice, Ford. And this is our best chance to do just that.”

Nodding, I scratch the two days’ worth of stubble on my jaw. “They’re going to need all the manpower available to track him down. Jason Ripley is conniving and resourceful; thinking this capture will be easy is a mistake. Will be everyone’s downfall.”

“Agreed.” A moment of silence follows. He seems to want to say something else but remains quiet, and I take that as my cue that he’s done. No point in arguing anymore. Once he makes up his mind, it’s set in stone.

“I’m out.” Rapping my knuckles twice on his desk, I push my chair back and stand. I make it a few steps, the handle of the door just within my reach when Captain Perez clears his throat, stopping me in my tracks. I don’t turn around but tilt my head to the side, so he knows I’m listening.

“I chose you for a reason.” A heavy sigh follows. “Keep her safe, Elijah. Nothing else matters. No matter the cost.”

* * *

I’ve been home a few hours now, and I’m restless. Worse than inside the captain’s office.

There’s a nervous energy flowing through my veins, keeping me on high alert as every line inside the folder runs through my mind on a constant loop—a movie reel of information that’s affecting me on a personal level.

Something about her is affecting me.

Maybe it’s the need in me to serve and protect. Maybe it’s knowing how close she was to being another name on his list of fatalities.

Maybe it’s because I know that I failed his victims. Her.

Over and over, I read the information and catalog the moments of pure fear she must’ve lived. The torture of not knowing what will come.

If he will catch her.

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