Detective Jain Reynolds placed her gun back into the holster as she stared at the figure tanging before her in the shadows. “What are you doing here?” She asked. Stanley sighed and took a puff from his cigarette. He had lit up a stick while she tucked her gun. He exhaled the smoke spreading it across the dimly lit hallway. Jain didn’t look particularly happy about that. “I should ask you the same thing,” he replied. Jain rolled her eyes. She hadn’t expected to see Stanley here. This was supposed to be a mission nobody had to know about. There was a lot she was hiding from Stanley and she didn’t want him to find out. Especially the fact that the killer was likely someone in their police force. So many thoughts ran through her mind on her way here. Could it be the Lieutenant? He barely showed up at the crime scenes. It could be Mrs. Lopez too or even Stanley. Jain shook her head in disbelief. She was being too paranoid. They both were helping her. It would be wrong to accuse them of
“Here you go,” Rylan said, handing over a mug of steaming coffee. Lana who was seated on the couch with a blanket covering her, got it from him and nodded in appreciation. She took a sip from the coffee and it almost burnt her lip. “Hot!” She gasped. Rylan winced. “Sorry.”“It’s cool,” she said and took another sip. Rylan sighed and took a seat beside her. Lana sipped the coffee once more as she recalled what had happened. Rylan had saved her, and after all that she had done to him, she wondered why he would do something like that. Lana had been so stupid to have left the house. Rylan had told her that she should stay home where it was safer, but she had defied him again, and like usual he had to save her ass. He was in his white undershirt now and it was stained in blood. He had managed to wipe the blood off his face before coming back down. “Are you alright?” He asked her. Lana was still feeling terrified, but she was better. She had thought she would die. It was so obvious a
“Shit!” Seth said, slamming his fist on the wall in anger. Carlos who was beside him was silent as he placed his hands in his pockets. They were at the warehouse now and before them was a sea of dead bodies. Carlos clenched his jaws in disappointment. His men hadn’t been able to hold off Rylan Daystar. He thought they stood a chance considering the numbers. But as usual, Rylan showed him what a formidable foe he was. This made him crack a smile. “I knew this would happen,” Seth continued. He had known his plans would be thwarted by Rylan. He always had a knack for ruining things. Especially things that belonged to him. Seth had known that he would go to find Lana immediately after he left the party. He had told Carlos about this and he looked very relaxed about it. That was the same expression he had on now. “Aren’t you going to say anything?” Seth asked Carlos who was busy looking around the warehouse calmly. He reminded him of Noah and how nonchalant he usually was. Carlos seem
“What is that?” Miss Lopez asked. Jain looked at the mask one more time before turning back to them. “This belongs to whoever killed those men,” she replied. Miss Lopez was confused. “You’re saying one man did this?” She asked. Jain looked at Stanley who folded his hands with the cigarette in his mouth. “It’s likely,” he replied. “What? That’s impossible!” Miss Lopez said. Jain looked at the mask one more time. Her guts were telling her she knew who exactly was behind this, but she was scared to mention the name. It struck a fear in her she didn’t fancy. “We have seen a couple of incidents like this before, Lopez,” Jain pointed out. “Yes. But that was different,” Miss Lopez reminded them. “They were gang members surrounding the scene. But this…”“No opposition gang members are lying around. And if you look properly, all bullet wounds are precise which means they must have come from one person.”Miss Lopez tried to put the pieces together and she realized that Jain was makin
Frederick and Karen McCullough walked into the room. She closed the door with a smile on her face as he made her way towards the free chair behind the desk. She pulled it out and held it for her father as he took a seat. Seth was staring at them in surprise. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. How did McCullough know Borges? He had seen them at the party, but he didn’t think that they would have something to do with Carlos. None of this made sense. “You’re working with Frederick McCullough?” Seth asked, barely hiding the surprise in his voice and he turned to Carlos. Carlos smiled at that. “I’m glad you all are acquainted with each other.”Seth raised an eyebrow at him. “Acquainted? His daughter had a secret share in the casino,” he revealed. Frederick turned to Karen in surprise. Karen, who was standing behind her father, gulped hard. She turned to Seth and glared at him. Of all the times he could reveal that he had to do it when her father was around. Frederick was stunned
Rylan closed the door behind him as Jain stepped into the house. He couldn’t believe that she had offered to come. If Lana was right, then maybe it was time the police got involved. But out of anyone they could invite, she had chosen Jain. Rylan knew the hatred Jain had for him. He remembered vividly when she had promised to bring him to Justice at his office a while ago. She had almost done that if Leah hadn’t stepped in. Jain looked around the huge living room in awe. It was as beautiful as she had expected. From the outside, she had expected the insides to look just like this. Rylan knew what he was doing. Wherever he got such money from, she was interested. She had read his file, so she knew that he had been married to the McCulloughs before they had divorced. A few years later, he had come back with substantial wealth. It was hard to comprehend that. Who made a billion dollars in less than five years? Well, Rylan did, and it certainly had her intrigued. “Please. Have a seat,” h
Jain tried to put the pieces together. It made perfect sense. The killer had been on a mission to get something that was in the empty freight they had found wide open. Or someone. It had to be Lana. Rylan had been looking for Lana. And he had murdered all those men to get to her. That was cold-blooded. What scared her most was the endurance he had to take down all those men. The killings were all precise and had been done by one man. And that man was Rylan Daystar. Jain sighed and rubbed her forehead as she tried to digest this. She had been so eager to put the pieces together, but now she was feeling a bit of regret as she did so. She also felt that she would regret it when she found out about the killer. She was close. She could feel it. But she wasn’t there. Rylan watched Jain grow silent before him. Williams, who had been standing by the kitchen door, shook his head in disappointment and walked off. Rylan knew what he meant. He shouldn’t have told her that. She had every right
FIVE YEARS AGO.“NO!” Jain screamed as she knelt before the bodies which were her daughter and her babysitter. They were lying in a pool of blood as she gazed at them. Whoever had done this, had done the worst thing ever. Her body was shuddering in both fear and anger. The cartel was responsible for this. First, it was Tim, now it was her daughter. Jain looked at her hands which were trembling. They were covered with blood. The blood of her daughter. She could hear the sounds of sirens as they approached the house. She could feel the phone in her pocket vibrating. She could feel and hear everything, yet she was oblivious to it all. Her eyes were ringing as she tried to digest what had just happened. The cartel had taken the spark out of her life. She was left in the darkness now with nobody to care for. The cold sensation of realization gripped her as she knelt before her daughter. The door swung open and people stepped into the room. Jain could see them, but couldn’t acknowledge t