She leans forward, determination in her eyes. “Lana saved herself from Plemmons. She saved me. You’re not bringing her into the field; she’ll be locked away nice and safe in whatever place we’re going to be in. There aren’t any hotels in Delaney Grove, so I’m about to talk to Craig to find out where exactly we’ll be tucked in.”
As if cued, there’s a knock at the door, and Craig walks in before I can invite him.
“Hey, so, care to explain to me what the fucking hell is going on?” Craig asks as he steps inside and closes the door.
“I’m currently telling him to bring Lana along because she doesn’t feel safe being by herself. She even hates traveling right now because she feels exposed. Talked to her about it myself,” Hadley quickly inserts.
His eyebrows go up. “That’s completely understandable after what she suffered. She should come.”
Hadley beams at me like a kid who just won the argument over who gets the candy. “You too? You realize how dangerous that could be.”
He bats his hand. “A revenge killer who has been targeting strong, fit males is not going after a helpless woman. If he wants someone on our team, he’ll come directly after us. He’s not afraid.”
“Exactly what I said,” Hadley gloats.
“Neither of you are profilers,” I point out.
“Which is why we shouldn’t be so much better at this than you,” Hadley says on a long, breathy sigh, mocking me with her eyes.
“Why is this so important to you? First you don’t trust her, and now you want her with us?”
Her lips tense. “Things change. Pictures happen. Then things change real fast when shit hits the fan and suddenly SSA Prick Meister walks in and takes over like he’s trying to hide something.”
“What does that even mean?” I groan.
“Lana will be safer with us than on her own right now,” Craig tells me, the two of them doubling up.
Donny walks in, and I glare at him as he shuts the door.
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but we need to figure out our next step and soon. He’s on the phone with the sheriff now, but instead of delivering the profile out in the open, he shut the door and said it was a private matter.”
He looks between the three of us.
“What?” he asks, confused at the tension.
“They think Lana should come with us, because she doesn’t feel safe alone right now.”
“That’s very understandable. You should bring her. It’s not like she’ll be in any danger, considering he’d just come after one of us directly if he thought we were in the way,” Donny says, causing Craig and Hadley to smirk victoriously at me.
“Un-fucking-believable.”
“Besides,” Donny goes on, ignoring my comment, “it’ll piss off Captain Douchewad something fierce.”
Chapter 11
If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?
—William Shakespeare
LANA
Shakespeare was one of the few philosophers who believed in revenge. Then again, he was a romantic. Romantics always believe in revenge, because romantics love harder, suffer loss more painfully, and hold onto a grudge that has shattered their hearts. Their hearts are of the greatest importance, above all else—body, soul, or mind.
My body grew stronger and my mind turned calculated when I lost my soul to avenge my heart.
I guess that makes me a romantic.
I’m in the middle of texting Jake, who is also a romantic, when there’s a knock at the door, interrupting me.