I pointed to the restroom. “Over there—did you see anything?”
He wiped his rheumy eyes. “No. This was on the ground, though.” He reached into the bin and held up Raven’s purse. “I was gonna take it to the office.”
Cursing, I grabbed it and headed back to the restroom. I looked around, seeing what I hadn’t in my rush through the room. Some specks of blood on the edge of the sink. The imprint of a set of men’s shoes in the dust on the floor. The wastebin knocked over as if there’d been a struggle. Mike came in. “How did this happen?”
“Back door,” I growled. “It wasn’t on the list because it wasn’t supposed to be in use. Someone broke the lock.” I passed a hand over my face. “He’s been here the whole day, watching. Waiting.” I looked at Mike. “He got her.”
* * *
I had to lock down my feelings of panic. The emotion I felt for Raven. She didn’t need Damien her lover right now. She needed Damien the man of Hidden Justice to find her. Save her.
A short while later, we were ensconced in the security room at the zoo. The children were gone, a story that Ms. Raven was ill pacifying them. Mike and Tracey ensured they were all on the bus and headed home. Safe.
We sat in front of the multiple screens, scouring them. My people had torn the park apart, searching for her. We found nothing. No trace of her or Andy. Somehow, he had simply blended in. I hadn’t given Andy enough credit for his persistence or his intellect. Because there was no doubt, this was Andy.
Raven’s tracker wasn’t working. It had been blocked somehow. As we scanned camera after camera, Egan called me over. “I got something.”
I watched Raven walk into the restroom. Another camera caught the maintenance man as he stepped out of the bushes by the back door, pushing his bin. I watched in horror as moments later, I spoke to him, then he disappeared.
“She was right there,” I murmured. “Right fucking there under some bags.” My breathing picked up. “That was Andy?”
“In disguise,” Egan murmured. “I’m trying to track him with all the cameras.”
The maintenance man moved through the park slowly, never rushing. He passed some of my people, not even reacting. He veered off the road and disappeared off-camera.
“Find him,” I growled, already dispatching men to the location.
“He had this all planned. He followed us all day, waiting for the right moment. He hid in plain sight. I fucking talked to him.” I grabbed my hair. “He gave me her purse, and she was right there. Right fucking there!” I roared.
He had access to the buildings. He knew his way around. He’d planned every step of this. He hadn’t gone away the way Raven had hoped. He’d stepped back and planned this out. He knew he would find a moment he could grab her.
But how? How did he know we’d be here? How was he doing this?
“How did he turn off her tracker?”
Egan shifted. “I think the blood we saw was her head hitting the sink. I think when that happened, the tracker was broken. It was in her earring, right?”
“One of them, yes.”
The thought of how hard she would have hit her head, that she was hurt, held hostage by Andy, made me ill. Once again, I had to force down the terror and focus on finding her.
We were given more room, and I sat beside Egan, helping track Andy down. I fixated on the task, refusing to give in to my panic. Raven needed me now, and I would not let her down.
Ten minutes later, we had traced his steps. We caught the tail end of the cart as he went off the main path, and we found him walking into an old, unused shed. Seconds later, he emerged, his disguise gone, his usual hoodie in place. He carried a heavy bag over his shoulder and jogged around the building, only to disappear again. Egan began scanning the perimeter cameras and pointed. “There!”
Andy emerged from behind the building and headed to a small, inconspicuous gray car that was parked in the bushes. He tossed the bag into the trunk and slammed the lid, hurrying to the driver’s seat. Knowing Raven was inside that bag, I became more furious. Seeing the careless way he handled her made my hands clench. I would be repaying every bump, bruise, and injury he caused her, tenfold. The car lurched forward, disappearing off-camera.
“How long ago?” I asked.
“Twenty minutes.”
“Did you get a plate?”
“No. I can hack into traffic cameras. But I need to get to the office.”
“Send all this footage there.”
“Done.”
“We need to go there right now.” My people wouldn’t find her here. We were too late.
He pressed a comforting hand to my shoulder. “We will find her. End him,” he added. “He will pay for touching what is yours.”
“Yes.” My gaze drifted to the screen.
“Hang on, Raven. I’m coming,” I whispered.
I could only pray she knew that and would be strong until I got to her. I needed her to be.
I was terrified to think of what would happen if I was too late.