Page 54 of Saved from Obsession

Shit.

And then. I have an idea. Walking towards the front door of the apartment, I stop by the side of the small table next to it. Angling the phone so it’s only focused on the door, I quickly scratch a note on the pad on the table. I hope when Leo gets back and sees me gone, he’ll see it.

What if he doesn’t? I can’t take the chance. Now I’m down to four minutes to save Leo’s life. I carefully drop the pad on the floor so it’ll be the first thing he sees when he walks in, holding the phone still level with the door, so hopefully the caller won’t suspect anything.

Then I put my hand on the door handle and gather up all the courage I have left. As long as I get out of here, make sure Leo is safe, I’ll take whatever else comes at me.

But please, I beg silently as I open the door,please, Leo, come find me.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

LEO

“Did you have any luck?”

Cole cuts right to the chase as soon as he answers my call. I glance in my rearview mirror as I change lanes, then say, “More than I expected.”

His voice rises with interest. “What did you find out?”

I grit my teeth as I reply, “That I want to beat the guy, first of all.” I’m still tense, white-knuckling the steering wheel, anger simmering in my chest. As I sat across from the man who was responsible for terrorizing Georgia, it took every bit of my self-control not to lunge over the table and punch him.

Looking back, it may have been the murderous rage in my eyes that convinced him to be so forthcoming.

Cole gives a dry chuckle. “I’m sure. What else?”

“Well, he gave me part of the URL he used to access the ad. He didn’t remember all of it, but it’s enough to work from. If I start working on it tonight, and I get Beth and Tex on it as well, we should be able to access the original posting by tomorrow.”

“That sounds promising,” Cole says. “Will you be able to find out the identity of the poster once you find the ad?”

“Probably not.” I’m distracted for a moment as the car behind me speeds up, tailgating me, and I frown as I shift lanes to get out of the way. I’ve got too much other stuff on my mind to deal with asshole drivers on the highway.

“Anyway,” I continue, “I’m sure the man who posted it used a VPN—a virtual private network—so his IP address can’t be traced. But we may be able to find a workaround. If we can determine which Internet service provider he’s using, we can hack into their systems and find out his identity that way.”

“That’s good news, Leo. Hopefully we can put an end to this sooner than later.”

“I’m hoping we can.” There’s nothing I want more than to be able to tell Georgia this nightmare is behind her. “Depending on how quickly we can bypass the VPN and service providers’ systems, we should have something solid in the next couple of days.”

“Good.” Cole’s voice roughens with intensity. “This guy needs to be stopped. I talked to Cruz, an FBI agent I know from San Antonio, and he’s going to get in touch with the field office near here—once we get something specific, we can pass the information along to them.”

“We’ll find it.” I’m sure of it. With Beth and Tex helping me, it’s only a matter of time before we catch this guy. “I need to end this for her, Cole. I’m not stopping until this is all over.”

“I know, Leo. None of us will.”

We schedule a time to meet first thing tomorrow morning and I’m about to hang up with Cole when I glance at the time and realize it’s been three hours since I last heard from Georgia. Which isn’t a long time in normal circumstances, but with everything going on—I can’t help worrying about her.

“Hey, Cole?”

“Yeah?”

“Just wondering. Is Maya still with Georgia?”

Cole pauses, then says, “No. Maya came back about two, two and a half hours ago. Why? Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Aside from my paranoia, that is. “I just haven’t heard from her in a few hours. Usually she texts me back right away. I’m sure it’s nothing, just—”

“I get it.” Cole’s voice is calm, reassuring. “I felt the same way after everything that happened with Maya. Worried about every little thing. I’m sure Georgia is fine. Maybe she took a nap or something.”

It’s possible. Given how little sleep she got last night, and then our exertion from this morning… But a little niggle of disquiet won’t leave me alone. I won’t say that to Cole, though, instead replying, “I’m sure you’re right.”

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