Page 29 of Get Kraken

He raised his hands as though in surrender. “I will not confirm or deny that.”

When Olivia had sufficiently covered herself, she walked farther out of the water. The waves crashed against them, but nothing so powerful that they couldn’t push ahead.

When she reached the area where the surf barely skimmed across the sand, Olivia pulled her little flip flops out of her bag and began moving again.

She still wasn’t saying a word to him.

He didn’t understand that.

“If you’re upset nothing happened again, just know that this isn’t bad news. We’ll report in and see if there are any updates.”

“And likely hear no news.”

“Positive thinking, Red,” he said. “Even if he didn’t make a move, it means the killer hasn’t struck again.”

“And what if that’s because he knows what we’re doing?” She clenched her hands to fists, marching up the rocky beach to where Chase hid the car. “What if he’s not striking because he knows we’re looking for him?”

“Then we keep looking. So long as we’re doing our jobs, he’s not killing anyone else.”

Olivia pressed her lips together. She reached for the handle of the passenger side of the car. She pulled on it. When it didn’t open, she tried again, and then looked into the car to motion for Chase to open it.

Her voice was a low mutter. “He’s not in here. Where is he?”

Mike pointed a little down the parking area. “Isn’t that the local team’s van?”

“Yeah, I guess he called for backup?”

They approached the vehicle, Mike reaching forward to knock on the sliding door. They waited.

The door still didn’t open, and in the silence, Mike put out his other senses.

And then he finally picked up on the scent of copper.

A lot of it.

Every instinct within him screamed in high alert.

“Olivia.”

He reached for her, taking her hand.

The door burst open, as though exploding from the inside out.

A roar. A long snout and heavy-looking teeth snapped out.

Mike barely yanked Olivia out of the way of those jaws, instinctively turning into that mouth and letting his arm and shoulder take the brunt of the bite.

Olivia screamed, backing away as Mike was tossed aside as though he were made of feathers.

His head smacking onto the pavement felt anything but.

ChapterEleven

Olivia flew backward in a desperate bid to stay away from those snapping teeth.

The thinking side of her brain shut down, though she glanced to the side and saw Mike on the ground.

She couldn’t see his face. Was he dead? There was so much blood. She could smell it even through the terrible, hot breath that whooshed at her through those crooked, sharp teeth.

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