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‘And thank you for the coffee. I’m sureI’ll see you around the office,’ Ella said.
‘I certainly hope so.’
Ella didn't prolong the pleasantries asmuch as she wanted to. She gave him her best smile, turned and made for thedoor.
Then she was gone, pushing through thedoor and out into the cruel, unforgiving world. A world where the monsters worehuman skin, and the heroes were just as broken as the rest of them.
CHAPTER THREE
Ella screeched to a halt outsideMia's lakeside pad. The journey here had been a blur, thoughts pinging aroundher skull like wasps trying to escape a jar.
Had Martin vanished because he knewElla was onto him? Was there any other explanation? Could he have fled toanother state, assumed a new identity, ran before the vice of justice couldsqueeze him?
She barely had time to yank the keys fromthe ignition before Mia came tearing out the front door like her ass was onfire. Ella had seen Mia keep her cool in moments that would have spelled deathfor most people: pistols kissing her temples, hands wrapped around her neck.But here, Mia looked a picture of desperation.
‘Ripley, you look like death warmed up,’Ella slammed the car door hard enough to rattle her teeth. ‘Tell meeverything.’
Mia latched onto her arm, nails bitingthrough her jacket. ‘Martin's gone.’
Ella placed a hand on each of Ripley’sshoulders and looked her square in the eyes. ‘Relax. Talk me through it.’
Mia was clearly in no mood to becomforted. She broke free of Ella’s grip and began pacing. ‘I woke up thismorning and Martin wasn’t here. Car’s gone. Full Houdini.’
‘Have you tried calling him?’
‘Phone’s dead. No signal.’
‘Maybe he's just catching up with somebuddies,’ she said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. She didn’t wantto go full accusatory just yet, because there was a chance Mia could come tothe same conclusion with enough applied logic.
Mia shook her head so hard Ella thought itmight fly off. ‘He’d tell me if he did. The guy has all his outings listed onthe calendar. You can’t take the military out of the man. If this was somesocial thing, I’d know about it, and he sure as hell wouldn’t go with a deadphone.’
A creeping sense of oh shit crawledup Ella’s spine. No way was this a coincidence. Not with what she knew. Notwith Martin catching wind that she was onto his little murder spree.
‘Fishing?’ Ella asked.
‘His rod’s still here. I checked.’
‘How long’s he been gone?’
‘Since at least six AM. I’vechecked everywhere, Dark. All of his usual haunts. He’s not here.’
‘He still has his own house,right?’ Ella asked. She already knew Martin wouldn’t go back to such an obvioussanctuary, but she had to tick these places off her mental checklist.
'Been there, tried it. A neighborsaid she hasn't seen Martin in weeks.'
Ella's mind flashed to that charged momentin Mia's living room. The silent conversation between her and Martin. Thepredatory glint in his eyes. Both had a secret, neither wanted to share.
Martin knew his game was up and now he wasrabbiting.
White-hot rage surged through Ella'sveins, fists clenched hard enough to crack walnuts. She should've moved on himsooner. Should've put the screws to him the second the pieces clicked. Butshe'd wussed out – for fear of what? Ripping her best friend’s life to shreds?Was the alternative of Mia living with a secret serial killer a better option?
Mia's face crumpled, tears threatening tospill over. She looked up at Ella. ‘What if our angel got him, Dark? What ifMartin was the next one in line?’
Ella's heart clenched as a sour tasteflooded her mouth. She wasn’t sure which was worse. That Martin was ahomicidal guardian angel or whether he was the victim of one. Either way, itwas Ripley that would bear the resulting trauma.
‘Hey,’ Ella said, gripping Mia's shoulderstight. ‘You’re the most logical woman I know. So use logic.’
Mia took a shuddering breath. Ella couldpractically see her shoving down the panic, the fear, locking it away behindthat tough-as-nails exterior.
