Page 69 of Stalked

“We will stop him. That’s our job, Rosalyn. Not yours.”

“No.” She gently kissed his wrist, then ducked under his arm and into the conference room.

She crossed to the head of the table. “The best shot we have of catching him is if the transmitter is still in my mouth and we use me to set him up.”

Steve wasn’t willing to let it go. He came and stood beside her. “We already have a plan. We’ll use an agent of your general build and coloring—probably Lillian here—” he pointed to a woman at the table “—to impersonate you. We’ll give the transmitter to her and put her somewhere, he’ll follow it and we’ll catch him.”

Derek nodded, supporting Steve. “Using a trained agent rather than you is a better tactical position for us.”

Rosalyn shook her head. “That’s assuming the dentist can get the transmitter out unharmed, which is no guarantee.”

“Dr. Mitchell is one of the best oral surgeons in the state,” Steve said.

Rosalyn rolled her eyes. “And I’m sure he’s had lots of practice taking transmitters out of crowns, because that happens so often. No matter how good he is at normal dental stuff, he’s never done anything like this before. You can’t deny it’s a huge risk.”

Steve crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s an acceptable one.”

Everyone was looking at her now. “Even if we get the transmitter out safely, the Watcher is still going to know something is different. He can hear my voice. Has months of practice listening. He’ll know if my voice is different.”

Derek looked at Molly, “Can anything be done after the removal of the transmitter to make it sound like it’s still in?”

“I can manipulate it somewhat, but it would just be a guess. I agree with Rosalyn about the sound. After all the time he’s spent listening to her, he would notice a difference.”

“I agree,” Jon said. “Part of the thrill for the Watcher is probably listening in to the women. He wants to think of it all as just a science experiment that he’s controlling, but listening probably gives him some measure of sexual thrill.”

“And he would definitely be aware of changes,” Brandon agreed. “He knows not only the sound of Rosalyn’s voice but the pitch and the patterns.”

Rosalyn couldn’t help the shudder that ran through her.

“It’s probably part of how he’s known what buttons to press to get the biggest reactions out of his victims,” Brandon continued. “He studied their voice patterns to see what caused the stress and then preyed on that.”

Rosalyn nodded, trying not to lose her nerve. “So we all agree that taking it out is not the best thing to do.”

Everyone around the table began talking at once. There was no clear consensus about the best plan.

Steve held up a hand to quiet everyone. He turned to Derek. “Derek, you and Ashton and the rest of SWAT will be heading up most of the sting. What’s your opinion?”

Derek leaned back in his chair. “It’s never my first choice to put a civilian in the line of fire. A pregnant one makes the situation even more complicated.”

Rosalyn refused to be cast aside because of whatmighthappen. “But...”

Derek held up his hand in a gesture that encouraged her to let him finish. “But I agree with what you’re saying about the transmitter. The Watcher knows your voice. Changes now might spook him.”

“We can use you to give all the verbal cues,” Ashton said from his place beside Derek. “Then use a replacement agent in the actual location where we plan to arrest him.”

Steve looked over at Derek. “You agree?”

Derek shrugged and nodded. “I understand you wanting to keep Rosalyn completely out of this, boss, truly I do. But she’s right. Using her is our best bet at catching this guy before he hurts someone else. And if we use Ashton’s plan, the risk to Rosalyn is minimal.”

Rosalyn reached over and touched Steve’s arm, bringing his attention to her. “I want to do this. Ineedto do this.”

“And I need to keep you safe. Keep the baby safe.”

“We will be safe. You’ll be there to protect us every step of the way.”

She knew Steve understood. Knew he knew this was the best plan. But she could also understand his hesitancy.

“Fine.” He turned back to everyone. “But we don’t leave here until we have a plan with no holes. And time is of the essence. Rosalyn has been out of the Watcher’s ear for over two and a half days. If we wait too much longer, we’ll lose him for good.”

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