Delaney shifted slightly, visibly absorbing the seriousness of the conversation. Despite the weight of everything, she didn’t shrink away. Her confidence was flickering steadily back, the strength she carried finally reasserting itself as she shared her knowledge and contributed meaningfully to our efforts.
I leaned back in my seat, my gaze locked on her, pride filling me. Seeing that quiet strength emerge sparked something fierce deep inside me. Magnus hadn’t just failed to take Delaney’s life—he’d failed to take who she was.
When she finished, she looked around at my brothers, her shoulders finally easing as she realized they’d genuinely listened to her. Kane’s expression softened with approval as he met her eyes directly.
“You’re impressive as hell, Delaney. Your knowledge makes a huge difference for us. Thank you.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she nodded slowly. “I just want to help.”
“You have.” His attention shifted toward me, his eyebrows raised slightly. “Rev, you thinking the same thing I am?”
“Magnus has likely done this before.” My voice was rough with barely restrained violence. “This level of organization, fixation, and symbolic detail indicates experience. This isn’t the first time.”
I sat back slowly, my mind already turning over the details she’d shared, piecing together behavioral patterns. “This is someone with a deep-seated obsession, possibly delusions of perfection and purity. Magnus wasn’t random—Delaney was targeted, chosen for specific reasons. Likely stalked long before the abduction occurred.”
Nitro cursed under his breath, shaking his head slightly, disgust clear on his face. Apex’s knuckles cracked as his hands curled into fists, his eyes narrowing darkly.
“What’s your next step?” Cage asked.
“Victimology and behavioral patterns,” I replied. “Choosing Delaney means stalking, selection criteria, and fixation. We need to track prior patterns—locations, missing women, and historical symbolism. Magnus is meticulous, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t left a trail. Nobody is perfect.”
Jax nodded. “I’ll start cross-referencing missing persons reports, focusing on women fitting Delaney’s profile. Same age and background, historical research students, maybe. Anyone matching Magnus’s twisted criteria.”
“Killers like him usually have a type,” I confirmed. “But keep in mind that it might not be physical similarities. They won’t necessarily look like her. Each victim was likely chosen for their resemblance to his latest historical fixation.”
Jax nodded, his head bent over his tablet, still taking notes.
“Dig into past cases matching this MO,” Kane ordered. “Anything similar—staged rituals, historical dress, and symbolicitems. Go deep into police reports, including unsolved cases and archived files.”
I scrubbed my hands over my face, suddenly feeling very tired and wanting nothing more than to wrap myself around my woman and pretend nothing existed outside of us. But that would have to wait. “Doubt you’ll find any of his most current victims. He’ll have gotten better and better at hiding the crimes. So I’d dig deeper into his older activities.”
Apex leaned forward. “I’ll start tracing the financial aspect further back. Magnus didn’t just start buying this shit recently. We’ll find patterns.”
After the meeting, the brothers dispersed, each moving to handle their specific tasks. Delaney stood slowly, and I placed a careful hand on her lower back, guiding her gently out of the office. As we headed back toward my room, she moved closer to my side, visibly relieved that we’d finished for now.
“You did damn good in there,” I murmured, letting my voice drop low enough to brush intimately against her ear.
Her cheeks flushed softly, and she smiled. “Thanks.”
My pulse quickened at the quiet strength in her expression. She was brave as fuck, strong and resilient in a way that stirred something deep inside me. Magnus Kinghorn might’ve thought he’d broken her, but he was fucking wrong.
She wasn’t just surviving—she was stronger now than she’d been before.
Over the next two days,my tension steadily increased as I began noticing small details around the compound. The security at our clubhouse was rock solid, with cameras covering nearly every angle and brothers frequently patrolling the perimeter.Despite that, I found subtle signs someone had been watching us.
I spotted an unfamiliar vehicle parked a little too long at the end of the compound’s private access road. By the time I got close enough to check the plates, it vanished smoothly into traffic. Near one of our observation points, I discovered disturbed brush—broken twigs and scuffed earth—signs someone had lingered and observed, hidden from our cameras and eyes.
Whoever it was, they’d been cautious, never approaching too closely or stepping into clear view, but their presence was unmistakable. I was sure it was Magnus.
I wasn't particularly worried about him strolling straight through our gates like an idiot with a death wish, but the subtlety and caution he displayed gave me new clarity. Magnus wasn’t reckless or raging. He wasn’t driven by impulses he couldn’t control. He was patient and methodical. Carefully evaluating his obstacles, watching, and recalculating his plans before acting.
It didn’t take long for my thoughts to move deeper. This wasn’t just some obsessed academic predator working a single victim. It felt more calculated and practiced—like the work of an organized serial offender.
Magnus wasn’t simply fixated on Delaney alone; he was repeating a cycle he’d done before, possibly multiple times. The precision of Delaney’s staged abduction, the carefully placed symbolism, the ritualized details—these weren’t the hallmarks of someone stumbling into crime. They belonged to someone dangerously practiced.
I met with Jax and Apex to lay out everything I’d observed.
“This changes things,” I explained, leaning forward as we sat around the heavy oak table in the office. “We already guessed this wasn’t just an isolated incident. That he’s most likely done this before. But there’s more to it.”
