A doorman is posted at the door when we reach the reception, but he doesn’t pay us any attention. They rarely do it to anyone who's on their way out. You could be a guest, a cousin, or the resident's late-night entertainment.
We trudge to our cars as I prepare myself for a nap. If I’m in my bed in thirty minutes, I can sleep for three whole hours before I have to get ready for work.
Matt’s phone buzzes just as we reach his car, throwing a wrench into all my plans. “It’s Bree,” he tells me.
Excitement thrums through me even as my sleep is delayed for the foreseeable future. I shamelessly eavesdrop on their conversation. “Hey, what’s—”
“We found him. And yes, it’s a ‘him’. A research studentfrom some university,” Bree speaks fast.
“Can you talk slowly? How do you know it’s him?” Matt asks patiently.
Bree takes an audibly long breath. “Okay, so Cami and I were looking through the pictures. To work fast, you know? We didn't even need to because our victim comes home every day at five p.m. sharp, right? A car entered the building two minutes later. It doesn’t belong to anyone in the building. I checked. And he was in for three hours. It has to be him.”
I snatch the phone from Matt, who glares at me. “How do you know who he is?”
“I was going to ask that too,” Matt mutters. We ignore him.
“I looked up his number plate. I found his ID practically in the first search. I have his address.”
Fuck, yes. “Send it to me.” I disconnect the call and turn to look at Matt’s twin, wide eyes.
“Did we just find the Vigilante Wolf Hunter?”
Or his copycat. But you know, close. “Yes. Fuck, let’s go.”
We take Matt’s truck, leaving mine behind to pick up later. Once I have the killer safely behind bars, once I know Elliot would never talk about leaving me again. Once I know I’ve protected him from ever being caught.
As I feed the address Bree just sent into the GPS, I can’t stop some doubt seeping in through the excitement. Was this too easy? No, we’re just really good. And we were prepared.
I watch the sun rise, and the darkness fade as Matt drives, a low thrum of anticipation filling the car. But something tugs at the back of my mind. “How did a researcher afford a place like that in one of the most expensive cities in the world?” I think out loud.
Matt frowns as he glances at me. “Uh, I don’t know? Maybe his family is rich.”
I let that be enough. Because wefinallyhave him.
Now no one can ever take Elliot away from me.
The roads get more and more deserted as we drive to our destination. Slow music thrums in the car, a song I surprisingly don’t recognize. Matt and I don’t talk much, theanticipation of victory heavy in the car.
I shoot Serena a text that I’ll be late. We had a lead on the prototype theft that we were going to follow up on today. But that can wait.Everythingwill have to wait.
Bree calls when we’re two minutes out. I’m surprised we even get a signal here considering I haven’t seen another vehicle or house in twenty minutes. “Are you guys on your way?” Her voice filters through the speakers.
“Yeah, we’ll be there soon,” I say.
She murmurs something in the background. “Cami has updated Meena because we know neither of you thought to do that with how you must be vibrating in excitem—”
“We could have informed—”
“Meena said to keep us updated. Sloan and I are on backup.” She continues, completely ignoring me. I was lying anyway.C’mon, we finally have the copycat killer!
“We will,” Matt says before I can argue more. “We’re just about to reach. I’ll call you with an update soon.” Then he disconnects.
When I look out, Matt is parking in front of a pretty dilapidated warehouse.
“What the fuck is this place?” I ask.
Matt turns the engine off. “Definitely not a place you should have on your ID.”
