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I inhale her scent of lavender, her hair soft against my cheek. “I’m fine. It’s not me I’m concerned about.”
She pushes back. “He was your brother. You’re in shock.”
I glance around, not feeling alone enough in this hallway. “I can’t talk about it here.”
“All right. Come on.”
I follow her to an outside corridor along the side of the building, inhaling deeply as the fall air blasts my face. “We shouldn’t be here,” I say, planting my back against the brick wall.
“Now that the FBI have intervened, I agree with you.” Her green eyes squint against the sunlight, and I take her hand, bringing her closer. “What happened to Julian?”
I tamp down the burning ache in my chest. “I think he was the one who deleted the surveillance at the club. I can’t prove it, and luckily neither can Carson, but Julian was involved. Knowing my brother, he was probably making money somehow off the sadistic fuck.”
Sadie bites her lip, sending a pang of need right through me. “How was he killed?”
“I left before anyone examined him, but it looked close to the other murders. Close enough for Carson to implicate him.” I expel a heavy breath, shaking my head. “But I’m not sure. Not really. For all I know, the UNSUB killed him to get back at me.”
Sadie’s mouth turns into a tight frown. “That’s not a part of his methodology, Colton. If he did kill your brother, it’s because he felt Julian was a loose end. I think he’s been trying to eliminate those today.”
I squint. “If? You think someone else could’ve killed my brother?”
“After today, after seeing and talking with a victim he supposedly left alive, I have my own reservations.”
“So what, someone killed Julian and framed the UNSUB? I guess it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened, right?”
“Colton. This is not your fault. None of this is on you—”
I stop her with a kiss. I’ve been dying to taste her lips since I first glimpsed her, safe and here. Not out chasing down a killer. As I pull away, I push a stray wisp of hair from her eyes. “I know, goddess. Believe me, I don’t doubt for a second that my brother implicated himself somehow. I just need to figure out the how before Carson does.”
She cranes an eyebrow. “Is that why you and Carson both showed up black and blue?”
I lock my arms around her back. “Part of it. I didn’t want him to have the time to riffle through Julian’s stuff.”
“And your answer was to kick his ass?” A faint smile touches her lips. “Wish I could’ve seen it.”
The smile forming on my mouth falls. “But you did see something,” I say, carefully hinting to the video of Avery.
Her beautiful features contort. She looks away, facing into the breeze whipping her hair over her shoulders. “I’m sure that was the UNSUB’s last message to me. If we don’t find him soon, Avery won’t make it.”
My thumb rubs the skin peeking between her jeans and shirt. “What’s the message, Sadie?”
The small knot of her throat bobs. “Meet with him,” she says. Then, looking at me, “And come alone.”
A pang knocks my stomach. “And you think that’s the only way to save Avery.”
“It is,” she says assuredly. “But it’s not me he’s asking…”
At my confused expression, she rests her head against my chest, her whole body one heartbeat of pain.
Linking my arms around her, I swallow hard before my next question. “Then who is he asking?”
She tilts her head back until her eyes meet mine. “The killer.”
11
Her
UNSUB
