Harlequin Intrigue October 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Debra Webb

Author:Debra Webb
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Derek poured three fresh mugs of coffee, after dumping the two that had gone cold. Then he joined Blaze and Allison at the kitchen island, offering a mug to each.

Blaze unloaded the contents of a messenger bag onto the counter. A laptop and power cord first, then several photographs, along with copies of paperwork Derek recognized as coming from the local crime lab.

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed outside the sliding doors, as ominous and foreboding as a scene in any crime thriller, and for the first time in his life, Derek wished that was where they were. Because in fictional worlds, the bad guys went to jail, and the heroes saved the day. Derek hadn’t felt much like a hero since the moment he’d realized Mason had been murdered in his home, and Derek hadn’t had a clue. The two attempted abductions on Allison since then had only made his feelings of ineptitude more profound. Telling her about his time on the police force had driven it all home. She knew now that a man died on his watch. Whether his partner took off on his own or not, he was Derek’s partner. His to protect. And he’d failed.

He couldn’t fail again.

Thunder boomed, rattling the windows and causing Bonnie to stir in her sleep. Her tiny protests vibrated through the monitor Allison never let out of her reach.

The storm that had been blowing in all evening had finally arrived, and their little town was in for a long, rough night.

Allison wrapped her hands around the steaming mug, then turned her eyes to Blaze. “How’s it going with the truck swap?” she asked. “Have Lucas and Gwen made it to Louisville? Do they know if they were followed?”

Derek leaned a hip against the counter, anxious to hear his brother’s response.

Had their plan worked? Did Lucas draw the killer away? Or was Allison’s assailant somehow lurking outside Derek’s home, even now? Maybe even using the storm for cover.

“They arrived about an hour ago,” Blaze said. “They parked the truck in an underground parking deck, then went to dinner before the show. They’re going to drive home tonight, so Lucas can help me follow up on your river theory. As an SVU detective, he has some connections who might know something about it, especially if we’re looking at possible sex trafficking.”

Allison’s fair skin paled further. “So, we might be right?”

“It’s definitely possible,” Blaze said. “The handful of recently missing women seems to support the theory.”

She set down the mug with a rattle, then reached for the printouts in front of her. “We need to save these girls.”

Blaze shot Derek a curious look.

Derek shrugged in return. Allison looked fragile, but she just kept surprising him.

She turned the photographs of trace evidence to face her. Five strands of hair pulled from Mason’s shirt. “What else do you know?” she asked Blaze, quietly, lifting wide blue eyes to his.

He sipped his coffee, lowering his eyes and scanning the papers before them. “The lab confirmed the hairs are from four different blond women.

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