She rubbed the goose bumps from her arms. “He’s been watching the whole damn time.”
“This is freaky, Cora. You need to bring in the police. This guy is obviously unhinged.”
“I know.” She took a few more screenshots and then scrolled back to the ones at the bar to make sure she didn’t miss any. But after she clicked through the last one, the scene jumped to something new. A place she recognized because she’d just been there yesterday. The police station. And Ren was walking out.
“What the hell?”
He gaze scanned to the photo’s information. Time stamp: a little over three hours ago.
Her heart jumped into her throat. “Oh no.”
“What?”
“I need to call Ren.” She looked around the cluttered desk, trying to find her phone, her movements frantic. When she found it under a pile of papers, she hit Ren’s number, her fingers shaking. It went straight to voice mail, no ring. “Fuck.”
She shoved her chair back and stood. “Kev, I know it’s a lot to ask, but can you keep looking through this to see what you find? And forward me all those screenshots. I need to show them to the police.”
“Yeah, no problem.” Kevin’s brow furrowed, genuine concern on his face. “But, Cor, you really need to turn all this over to the cops. I mean, people don’t stalk someone to never make a move. This guy’s got something planned. You could get hurt.”
Dread curled around her, making her feel light-headed. She didn’t want to think too far ahead or overreact, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all coming to a head. That something had happened. Another thought struck her. “Wait, can you get me a location? Open up his Maps.”
Kevin rolled his chair to the spot where hers had been and clicked through to a few screens until he got the Maps app to pinpoint the phone’s current location. The address didn’t mean anything to her, but she took a picture of it with her phone.
Kevin spun around and grabbed her hand. “Hey, I’m serious. Be careful.”
The worry in his voice touched her. She leaned down and kissed his cheek. “I will. And thank you for this. Nut punches are officially off the table, all right?”
He smirked, though the sarcasm didn’t reach the rest of his face. “Good to know. I’ll send you what I find. And call me and let me know you’re okay.”
“Deal.”
Her phone was already to her ear when she jogged down the stairs and out to her car. Her mother answered on the second ring.
“Coraline, where the hell are you?”
“Mom, I need you at the station now.”
“What? Why?”
“We’ve got a bad guy to catch.”
THIRTY-ONE
Ren’s knees ached and the rope around his wrists and ankles had rubbed his skin raw. There wasn’t a place on his body that didn’t hurt. When he’d woken up from whatever drug Gordon had given him, he’d found himself in a garage of some sort—bound, naked, and lying at Gordon’s feet. Gordon had smiled down at him, welcomed him back to the world of the conscious, and then had kicked him hard in the ribs and told him to get to his knees.
That’d been the easiest part. The pain. The beating. The cuts Gordon had carved into
his skin with his pocketknife.
He could handle that. He’d learned to take that a long time ago. Pain was just pain.
But when Gordon had tried to touch him, had put his hand around Ren’s cock, his palm slick with Ren’s blood, and told him all the things he was going to do to him, Ren hadn’t been able to shut it out and take it. He’d snapped and fought back. Had spit in Gordon’s face and thrashed around and had told him what a pathetic excuse for a man he was. How disgusting he was, how shitty the sex had been with him.
Gordon had backed off at that and Ren had thought maybe he’d won. He might die but at least he’d gotten the last word.
But then Gordon had said that since Ren was being less than accommodating, he would entertain himself with Cora until Ren had a change of heart. Ren had instantly protested, but it’d been too late. Gordon had seen how the threat had affected him. That fear was more of a turn-on to him than anything else.
He’d blindfolded and gagged Ren, left him on the floor to bleed, and then went into the room next door, leaving doors open. Ren had heard every moment of the beating and rape, every muffled scream from her, every groan from him. Ren had nearly broken his hands trying to get himself free and his voice had given out from the shouting he’d done from behind the gag. He could feel the blood running down his wrists and his fingers had gone numb, but there was nothing he could do except listen to the anguished sounds and die on the inside.