I hand Caleb the ring.
“You’re smiling like an idiot. I take it all is good with you and Chloe?” Caleb asks.
I drop into the chair in front of his desk. “Better than good. We called her parents this morning, and they’re coming out in a couple of weeks to spend the weekend with us. We want us all to get together when they come.”
“Good to hear,” he replies and leans back against the desk. “I got more good news.”
I quirk my brows.
“The license plate Chloe wrote down is from a car reported stolen by a rental company. Car was supposed to be returned a week ago and is still missing. Even better, we may have the location of where this asshole is staying. If it’s Sabrina’s ex, Cameron, we have him on grand theft auto, and if she testifies, we’ll have him on kidnapping and forcible confinement.” Caleb’s giving me the second-best news I could hope to hear. The best would be knowing that Hernandez is in custody.
“That’ll be good. Sabrina’s a trooper, but I can see the fear in her eyes when she hears a noise outside or the way she’s close to the back door when we open the front, like she’s ready to bolt. This guy did a number on her,” I tell him.
“Alex and Zeke are checking it out now, but be ready to roll. As soon as they confirm he’s there, we’re out of here.”
A short time later, we’re on our way to the motel and see Alex’s vehicle waiting for us. Zeke spots us immediately, but Alex’s eyes are fixed on the motel, specifically the room Cameron is supposed to be in. Even from where I’m sitting, I can see the fire in his eyes.
We get out of our cars and hang back from the room, around the corner.
“You sure he’s in there?” I ask.
“Definitely,” Zeke responds. He runs to get the manager of the place so he can open the door if Cameron refuses to let us in.
Caleb adds, “Once we have him, I’ll need someone to pick up Sabrina to identify him as the same man who held her prisoner.”
“I’ll go get her, after we get him in cuffs,” Alex states, obviously annoyed that we haven’t made our move yet. The ever-patient Alex is losing his cool. I can see his relieved expression when Zeke returns with the manager.
I knock on the door, identify ourselves as the police, and ask Cameron to open the door. We hear shuffling inside and something crashing to the floor.
“Open it,” I order, and quickly, the manager takes the master key card and inserts it into the door. I move in first to see our man trying to squeeze through a window in the bathroom. I race over and grab him by the belt to haul him back down. Alex is right behind me, guiding Cameron back into the room.
“Cameron Naylor, I think we need to have a little chat,” I tell him as he tries to escape my grasp.
“I haven’t done anything,” he spews. He didn’t flinch when I said his name. I lead him back into the bedroom, where Zeke and Caleb are already collecting evidence. We can add possession of narcotics to the list.
“Is that your car out there?” I point at the vehicle with the license plate Chloe collected for us yesterday.
“Never seen it before,” Cameron spits out. Caleb grabs his keys on the bedside table and taps the button that makes the car bleep and flash its lights.
“Well, now we just can’t trust a word you say, can we?” Caleb says with a smirk. “It’s a stolen car, sir. That’s a felony. You’re going to have to come with us.”
“I borrowed the car,” Cameron tries to explain.
Alex steps into his face and growls, “Taking a car and not paying for it is called stealing, asshole. Drugs are illegal, and you have enough here to kill a horse. Planning on using these on some unsuspecting woman?”
Cameron tightens his jaw but doesn’t respond. Alex hit a nerve.
The stare down ends when Cameron lowers his eyes. Caleb and I put Cameron in the back of our car. Zeke’s collecting all he can for evidence, and we’re sending a team to collect the rest and bring it all back to the station while Alex picks up Sabrina.
Alex
I don’t know how I kept my shit together when I saw Sabrina’s ex trying to escape through the window. My desire to yank him down and beat the ever-living crap out of him was so overwhelming, I had to leave the room twice to calm myself. The more he talked, the more I wanted to punch his teeth out. My blood boiled when I saw the drugs he had. The most easily accessible date rape drugs, and enough to keep someone comatose for a month.
I totally believe that Cameron was going to use them on Sabrina when he found her and hauled her back to whatever hellhole he was living in. Chloe deserves a goddamned medal for her part in finding this guy.
Sabrina’s feisty when she’s around people, but as soon as she’s alone, I see the scared rabbit. She jumps at every turn, even when a car revs its motor too loud outside. What the fuck did he do to her? There’s more to what she’s admitted; I’m certain of it. I don’t know how any man can mistreat Sabrina. She’s shy, with a coy smile that will melt your heart and fucking fantastic hair that I dream of sinking my fingers into, while kissing her bubblegum-pink lips. And when she peers at me through lowered lashes, the flash of green emeralds appearing right when she knows she’s been caught staring is so tempting that I have to leave the room before I do something I shouldn’t, like reach across to her and kiss her stupid.
I rein in my emotions, knowing that one of the hardest things she has to do is come to the station and identify the man she’s been on the run from. Even from behind a one-way glass, it terrifies the victims. Based on what I know about Sabrina’s situation, this is going to play with her mind.
I knock on the door and see a shadow over the peephole as Sabrina must be looking out. She opens the door a crack, and her furrowed brow relaxes.
“We got him,” I say when she pulls the door open.
She stares unbelievingly at me. “Are… Are you sure?”
“We need you to identify him, but his wallet says Cameron Naylor.”
“I can’t do that.” She backs away from the door, her hands beginning to shake.
“Bri, we have a chance at putting this guy away for a very long time, but we need your help.” I keep my voice calm.
“I’m afraid. What if he knows it’s me?” I don’t want to lie to her. For now, he won’t see her, but if he goes to trial, she’ll have to take the stand. Sabrina will eventually have to face him.
“I’ll hold your hand through it all. I won’t leave you for a second. You’ll be behind a glass, and he won’t be able to see you.” I contemplate not telling her the entire process to ease her anxiety, but she needs to know it all. “Chances are we’re going to find enough evidence without your testimony, but there may be a time when you need to face this guy in a court of law.”
Her eyes widen as big as saucers, and she begins to back away.
“How many other women did he do this to? He’s terrorizing women, stealing cars. He planned on drugging and abusing you and maybe others. The man is a psychopath. He needs to be put away.” I approach slowly, one step at a time. My skittish doe freezes in place. “I swear to you, he’ll never get within ten feet of you. You’ll never be alone with him. You have to trust me.” I hold out my hand for her to take. Her eyes follow my hand, but she doesn’t take it, instead locking eyes with me.
“You’ll stay with me?” she whispers.
“Word of honor.”
It takes a while, but eventually, she stretches out her hand, placing it in mine. “I don’t want to come face-to-face with him if I don’t have to.”
“I’ll do everything possible to try to make that doesn’t happen.”
Damian
Chloe comes as soon as I call her to let her know that we have Cameron in custody. She’s sitting with Sabrina in Caleb’s office while we process Cameron. Even though Chloe hasn’t left Sabrina’s side since she got here, Alex refuses to leave the room.
“It’s time,” I announce. “He’s behind the glass, can’t see or hear you.”
I lead the group of them down the hall to the room where we have Cameron held, with Caleb interrogating him on what we have on him so far.
Through the speakers, we can hear Caleb. “Grand theft auto, possession of drug with intent—”
Cameron grunts out, “What intent?”
“Rohypnol is a date-rape drug. How do you explain having it in your possession?” Caleb asks.
“Probably left by the guy before me in the room?” He shrugs.
“Fingerprints will confirm otherwise,” Caleb replies.
All this time, Sabrina watches as Cameron comes up with excuse after excuse for what we’ve found. “It’s him,” she whispers, then gives us an address. “If that’s still where he’s living, in the back bedroom, in the closet at the very back, there’s a file box with a journal I kept. It has everything…” She trails off, then clears her throat. “It details what happened in that house.”
Zeke rushes out of the room and makes arrangements for the local police to search the home. Chloe links her arm with Sabrina’s, and Alex holds her hand. Sabrina clutches it tightly.
That’s one down and one to go.