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“I was jumped from behind and hit over the head .” He groans as he touches the back of his head. “I came to with fucking pliers in my mouth. He ripped my damn tooth out.” He glances at me. “But I got a good hit in. I think we can pull some trace. Maybe even blood.” He looks over his knuckles.
“This doesn’t make sense,” I say, shaking my head. “It couldn’t have been the UNSUB.”
Quinn raises his eyebrows and stares up at me. “Who the hell would it have been? How many other psychopaths did we lure here who would rip my fucking tooth out? I’m sure he wasn’t done with me.”
The honesty of that statement smacks me hard. No, Quinn would be missing much more than his tooth if the perpetrator would’ve had time. “Can you ID him?”
He shakes his head, then winces. “Too dark. But think about it. It was personal.” Quinn leans over to spit again. “Only someone within the department would know about my damn tooth. My personal brand of torture. Crazy dentists,” he says, trying to diminish the severity of his injuries.
Quinn’s radio crackles. “The perp is on foot. Repeat. The perp is on foot. All units be advised. White male, approximately six foot, brown hair and wearing black clothing was last scene leaving TRI.”
Quinn wipes his mouth using the scrap of my dress to clean the blood away. He lifts the radio. “Kyle, do you have his location?”
Static. “Negative.”
Quinn curses.
Flashes of red and blue light up the highway, blinking against the wooded tree line. I pull Quinn’s arm over my shoulder and help him stand as unis surround the memorial. Once I’m sure Quinn can stand without my support, I step away and take out Colton’s phone.
I’m dialing the number to the club when I spot Colton entering the clearing. In cuffs. Being escorted by Carson. “Get those off him,” I shout.
I make a beeline for Colton, but Proctor steps into my path. “This will go down as the worst UC operation ever. I hope you have a good explanation, and a damn good reason as to why I shouldn’t lock every single one of you up for obstruction.”
“Quinn needs medical attention,” I say, nodding to where he’s sitting on one of the benches. “I take full responsibility. I put Quinn in harm’s way. I organized a side op to apprehend the UNSUB away from the club.”
“And failed. Big time,” Proctor grates. He points toward the bridge. “You and your crew. In the van for debriefing.”
I glance back at Quinn, a mix of emotions assaulting me. Anger that he didn’t trust me enough to enter the field on my own battling with my concern for him. He almost got himself
killed.
“He’ll live.” Proctor eyes me closely before he shakes his head and starts toward Quinn. “It will be your captain who takes the hit. Just remember that.”
People know just where to strike to hurt the worst. No one else was supposed to suffer for this. And now…now, we’ve loosed an unstable psychopath on Avery. She’ll pay the highest price.
I turn toward Carson. “Uncuff him.”
He expels a heavy breath. “Why not? I’ve already lost my badge. Why not go the whole nine yards and let the Feds arrest me, too.” He jerks his head toward the bridge. “Not here.”
As we make our way toward the van, I link my arm through Colton’s. “How did you end up arrested?”
“I ratted you out.”
I stop short. Turning to face him fully, I say, “You did what?”
Carson holds up his hand. “It doesn’t matter, Sadie. The Feds already made the UC agent. The op was a bust as soon as they got a hit on the DNA from the sample.”
My head begins to spin. Despite being cuffed, Colton manages to keep me upright. I lean into his chest. “We have the UNSUB?”
Carson’s features smooth some. “Yeah. Well, we have his identity. You know that lab tech that works with Avery? The tall guy. Glasses. Skinny…”
My stomach bottoms out. “Simon?”
“Simon Whitmore. He evaded the initial search of the department by tampering with his file. That’s why the profile didn’t align with him,” Carson says. “The Feds have already pulled his original info. He worked in the Roanoke forensic lab. Moved here about six months ago, though his file states he’s been here for a year after transferring from upstate.”
I take off toward the Van.
If Avery isn’t already dead…if there’s a chance she’s still alive…finding that bastard Simon is our only hope. I pull the door open and am immersed in a full-scale search already in progress.
