Page 16 of Knight

"I need you to go in front of me. I need you to be the nice one, and make this jackass feel as if he's safe. When you're done, I'm going to get up there and talk to him."

It's been a long time since I've seen this fire in his eyes. "If that's what you want me to do, I'll do it. I have a question though, how do you know it's a guy?"

He grins. "Thought you'd catch that. When we were looking at all those videos, I made notes of where they were. Earlier today when that license plate came back, I went through the possible avenues he could've taken to get to the bus. There were a few stores with cameras, along with some homes that had cameras. I asked to see footage for the dates we wrote down, about the time he should've been there. I got a damn good still image of him. Once we release this, we should get some really good tips. You can see his face, his hair color, and how long it is. But because I have a feeling he shaved every bit of hair he had before he kidnapped her; I got someone to make a sketch of him without hair. We're close."

"You know I believe in everything you do. Whatever you want, or need from me. I'm here."

"Great, I wrote out a speech for you. Obviously I figure you're going to have to go through it and make it sound good, but there's a lot in there I need you to say. You good with that?"

Running my eyes over the page, I nod. "I am. Let me take this into the library and get it a little more polished. We got this."

"We do, don't we?" He asks, as if I need to be the one to reassure him.

It's different because he's always the one who reassures me. For him to show this side of himself, even this far into our marriage is one of the most satisfying things. "We do, we'll get her back."

"I can't do this without you," he whispers. "I need my guys and everything they bring to the table, but more than any of that, I need you. You make everything better, calm me down when I get too stressed, and you're the personable one when I'm not having the best day. I'm not me without you. Please stay by my side."

"Always," I entwine our fingers together. "I'll always be what you need, the same way you'll be what I need. Heaven help this man when we put our heads together. Nobody's beat Mason and Karina Harrison yet, and I'll be damned if they start now."

Chapter Thirteen

Menace

My foot bounces off the ground as I sit waiting for my turn at the podium. Rina’s gone up there, and she’s done exactly what I’ve asked her to do. I'm about ready to jump out of my skin, I'm so ready to lay out my promise, what some may think of as a threat; I don't care.

"I'm going to call up Police Chief Harrison now, to give you an update on what's transpired with the search for Taylor."

My stomach clenches with the trepidation of talking to the public again, without giving them the update they want. I wish I could go up to the podium and make a ton of promises. That I'll have Taylor back in the next couple of weeks, that I know exactly who this person is, that I can go to bed at night without wondering if I'm fucking this up or not. I bring a couple of pages with me, and place them down before I stare at the camera pointed toward me.

"Before I give an update to all of you, I want to say something to the man who took Taylor. There are a few things I know for sure. You're male; I refuse to call you a man. I know which car you used, and I know you used a stolen license plate on the back of that car. You stalked her for weeks. She didn't know you were watching her. But I'm going to give you a heads up. I'm looking for you, I'm the one who's stalking you, and I swear to Christ I will find you. When I do, you'll wish you'd never messed with anyone in this jurisdiction. We're closer than we've ever been, and I dare you to run. I'll find you no matter where you are, or what you do. That's a promise, one I intend to keep. I've seen you, and I will never forget what your face looks like."

It's so quiet, I can hear the sound of my own breathing. "That's the update," I nod. "I've seen him, I know what he looks like, and we're closer than we've ever been to you. Enjoy your freedom. It's coming to an end very soon. Members of the media, we've sent a composite sketch to your devices and emails you've provided us with. Please get that picture out as soon as possible, and as many times as you can. The more people who look for this man, the quicker we'll find Taylor."

I turn away from the podium. "Mason!" A few reporters try to get my attention, but I pay them no mind. I know what I've done. I've laid down a challenge, one I don't think this man will be able to ignore. He'll show his face just because I've called him out. Whether he'll show where I expect him to, is another story. Rather than stopping to talk to the reporters who are gathered, I head on into the school.

Rina's hot on my heels, I can feel her behind me. I turn so she can hear me. "Where can we go? I'll tell you all about what's happened."

"The library office. Trinity will give us a few minutes." She grabs my hand and drags me inside, before locking the door and leaning back against the desk. "So what do we know?"

Scoffing, I fold my arms over my chest. "We don't know a whole lot. I'm sending a picture to the media, like I said. The problem with this, is I think he's altered his appearance. If he has, we'll do what we can with what we've got, but if the general public aren't able to see him in their minds without hair, I think we'll be fucked."

"Who did the license plate belong to?" She asks.

"An elderly man whose car hasn't moved in six months out of Calvert County. Leads me to believe he might be from there, or lives close to the border. If we don't get anything from this, we're gonna go out in a couple of days to do a grid-search along the border. Taylor's house is only six miles from the county line."

"How do you know where you're going to search?" She cocks her hip.

"I can't tell you that, and you know it. I'll share a lot with you, Rina, but there's some things I can't freely share."

"I know," she sticks out her bottom lip. "I'm just excited that I was able to help you with the rest of it."

"And I appreciate it, but to keep you safe, I need to make sure you're on a need to know basis. Right now, you don't need to know."

She hates it, the look on her face is a fuck you if I've ever seen one. "I understand, but I don't have to like it."

"I don't expect you to," I crowd her into the desk. "This remind you of something?"

"You're trying to take my mind off of what you didn't tell me before the press conference. You think I don't know you're games?"

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