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“I’ll still work on stuff for the team, but this has me more bogged down than normal, so there won’t be a quick turnaround like you’re used to.”

“Not a problem. Great work, Charlie. Really fucking fantastic.”

I tapped the screen, ending the call. Slade stared at me, brows raised.

I sighed. “It’s a long, gruesome story. I’ll tell you about it after we catch our unsub. So, where should we start today? We need to find out where she’s identifying her next victims.”

I waited for Slade to respond, wondering if he was listening as he scrolled through his phone until he spoke up. “Let’s start with the crisis center angle. That would give our unsub plenty of assaults to select her victim pool from. I found two centers close. We can talk to the directors and counselors, give them the profile and see if anyone has worked there or visited frequently that hits the mark.”

“Smart.”

He huffed as he stood. “Don’t sound so surprised, asshole.”

“Just saying, brawnandbrains. Who knew?”

He flipped me the bird. “Oh, fuck off. You’re just jealous, skinny boy.” There was a grin on his face as he spoke, one that had made an appearance more frequently over the past couple of days.

As we walked to his car, I couldn’t keep my smile from growing despite the afternoon ahead of us. When I left Nashville, leaving behind everything I knew and my friends, I’d assumed what Tallon and I had was a once-in-a-lifetime friendship, one I wouldn’t find again.

Now it seemed that maybe Slade could not only be that friend I’d wanted, but maybe he needed one just as much as I did.

* * *

Elbow pressedto the white marble countertop in Rain’s kitchen, I tipped the beer bottle against my lips, savoring the cool liquid as it slid down my throat with each sip. It had been a long fucking day, even worse than the previous. Meeting and talking with directors and counselors at the two centers left me hollow and angry. Too many victims were treated like what happened to them was their fault by the people who were meant to help them. I knew victim blaming happened but didn’t realize it was so prevalent.

But it was, and far worse than I’d ever imagined. Hearing accounts of how the victims were treated by officers or even hospital staff made my stomach roll. How anyone could blame the victim, pushing their own beliefs or opinions on the case, was infuriating. We were supposed to help, provide justice, not make things worse by either not believing them or having a biased opinion.

Desperate to ease the helpless feeling, I downed the last of my beer and stood to toss the bottle in the recycling bin. Hands on my hips, I took in the kitchen and dining room. The desolate emptiness had the helpless feeling weighing even heavier on my chest. Though it was better than how it was before. Working his rich asshole magic, Slade had the destroyed furniture cleared out and the place cleaned in record time. If I hadn’t seen it two nights ago, I wouldn’t believe it was the scene of a rage-filled crime.

“I sent over the pictures from Dr. Evans for reference. She also pulled past charges to show the price she’d paid for the furniture and clothes that were destroyed. And add repairing the door to the cost of things needing to be replaced. Your office should have enough to get a basic quote started.”

The poor insurance agent looked seconds from pissing his pants beneath Slade’s scowl.

With a huffed laugh, I opened the fridge, pulling out two beer bottles. After popping the tops off both, I made my way over and handed one to Slade.

After an awkward goodbye from the insurance guy as he sprinted down the stairs, Slade and I were alone in Rain’s townhome. Lifting the beer, Slade took a quick pull, cringed, and held the bottle out to examine the label.

I snorted. “Don’t be an alcohol snob. It’s decent beer. Drink it and be fucking merry.” I clinked the bottoms of the bottles together in a forced cheers. “We all done here?”

He shot an odd look out of the corner of his eye as he tipped the bottle back. “Not yet. I’m waiting for a friend.”

“A friend,” I drawled. “What kind of friend?”

He sighed and dipped his head forward. “A security friend. There should’ve been a system installed in the first place.” I smiled around the bottle pressed to my lips. “So, I’m having someone come out and put in the same one as mine.”

“Good thinking.” Shoulder to the wall, I scanned the empty townhome. “But what the hell will we do until then?” I pulled out my phone to check the time. “Wait a second. You’re telling me a security company agreed to come here to install a brand-new, state-of-the-art security system at 10:30 at night?”

“We have the time. Rain won’t be home for a while. Floaters always take forever. He didn’t mind coming by tonight.”

“Did you give him a chance to say no?”

His lips curled at the corners. “He had a choice, though I’m not sure he knew that. And as far as what we can do while we wait, fuck if I know—” The almost-smile faded as he reached into his pocket. Pulling out his cell, he swiped the screen and pressed it to his ear. “Taylor. Yeah. Where? This just happened? Okay, we’re on our way.”

Standing tall, he rolled his shoulders and hitched his chin toward the beer in my hand. “Finish that. Duty calls. There’s a homicide across town near some bar. I’ll call my security guy and reschedule for another day,” he grumbled.

With zero hesitation, I strode to the kitchen and dumped the remainder of my beer into the sink.

Time to make myself useful.

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