“Shit,” he sighs. “Do I need to erase some cameras?”
“Probably. I changed my face until I knocked him out.”
“Jesus, I don’t want to find a mate,” he mutters.
“Why?”
“You do insane shit when you do.”
“This isn’t half as bad as I would do.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I sent her a message.” I glance over at Charlie, making sure he’s not stirring.
“You sent…” He laughs. “I may not know much about having a mate, but I’m not sure that was the right move.”
“I’ll deal with it after him.” I navigate into a neighborhood. “Asshole lives in a nice spot.”
“He makes good money,” he mentions lightly.
“I guess.” I keep my focus on the map, slowing. “I told Heath I was going out.”
“Like that makes it better,” he scoffs.
“Well, Rylee didn’t see the text. I should be back within the hour.” I turn onto another road.
“Famous last words.”
“Was I supposed to let him stalk my mate?” I growl.
“No.”
“Right.” I find his house and pull into the driveway. This is the kind of neighborhood where someone would notice me carrying a bloody body. I look around the car. “That’s handy,” I murmur and press the button for the garage.
“What?”
“Asshole has a garage door opener,” I snort, and drive inside.
“You are the luckiest asshole.”
I park the car. “Gotta go.” Closing the garage, I watch it lower.
“Call me when it’s done.”
I end the call and put it in my pocket. Taking the keys out of the ignition, I slide the duct tape over my wrist and open the door. I sort through the keys as I walk to the door attached to the house. I get it on the second try and swing the door wide before going to the passenger side door.
“Out we go, Charlie.” I reach behind him and grasp under his arms. “I don’t need more blood on me.” Dragging him out, his heels hit the cement hard, and I kick the door shut. “You’re heavier than I thought.”
I walk backward across the garage and into the house. Dropping him, I nudge the door shut and lock it. I crouch and tie his hands. I pause, rolling my neck, and look into the living room.
“Holy fuck.” I stand slowly and step over the body for a closer look. There are hundreds of pictures taped to the wall. “No.” I lean closer.
Rylee’s face stares back at me. There are at least thirty pictures of her, coming from the gym, the store, and at the club. Otherwomen are among them. All of them are taken in various places. I turn away and stare at Charlie. He’s a stalker. I don’t know if he’s gone further than photographing all of them.
Glancing around the house, I don’t notice anything out of the ordinary. I take the tape off my wrist and slide a chair from the table. Picking him up, I throw him onto it and bind his legs to the wood. It doesn’t have armrests, so I wrap duct tape around his chest and the chair. When he’s secure, I move through the house. There are two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an office upstairs. There aren’t any more pictures. I check the basement. I don’t know if he has taken a woman before, but I have to make sure he doesn’t have someone chained up.
Nothing besides the living room. I take several pictures of the wall and send them to Shade.
