Chapter Ten - Target

I'm happy to see that everyone else is okay when we regroup the next afternoon. After grabbing some breakfast, we all go through the recent murders that happened. It's the same pattern of killing young girls in their last year of high school but ever since D.S. started sewing mouths shut he's become unpredictable. Now he's moved onto carving his initials instead.

We decide to head to the four crime scenes to see if we can find anything else. Of course, I stay back in the car or stand at a distance while the others check the areas out in more detail. I make my own observations and by the time we're at the fourth crime scene I've figured out something.

On two of the girls that were murdered the same pendant was found with a photo of a girl inside. He's playing a game and trying to confuse us now. When we were all talking earlier Briar reported that there's no details in the database of the girl in the pendant. Which means she doesn't exist and is nothing to him. It's probably a symbol instead of his first heartbreak that started all of this.

She also figured out that he has been using different names as he moves from state to state. So his exes don't even know of a guy with the initials, D.S. This guy basically uses aliases whenever he meets someone new.

As we walk along the streets towards the scene I overhear people talking in a small shop. Stopping by the wall I listen in and hear them talking about how the cops saw someone suspicious on the cameras of a gas station on the outskirts before heading back towards Louisiana. My eyes widen before I turn and catch up with the rest of the team.

"He's heading back to Texas! He lives there!"

"What? How do you know?" Payton frowns thoughtfully as the others glance at each other. "And he started in New Mexico so wouldn't he live there?"

"I heard people talking in the shop we just passed. The cops saw someone suspicious on the cameras at a gas station before that person headed towards Louisiana." I explain as we cross the street. "D.S. murdered a shit ton of girls in Texas whereas in New Mexico only one murder was reported. He's comfortable in Texas and that's why the numbers are so high there because he knows the place."

"Blondie has a point there." Mac murmurs and I can literally see the cogs in his head turning.

"What the fuck?!" Roman seethes and I walk around the group to see what happened.

"Oh boy." I mutter as I spot the sign driven into the ground with 'You're next Tiramisu.'

"Who's...tiramisu?" Cleo asks with a confused frown.

"That'd be me...I'm Italian." I snicker as I raise my hand.

"He called her that when we received a threatening note at our first motel." Roman explains as he runs a hand through his hair in frustration." He made Elena one of his targets before I introduced her to you guys. We received a note that day too."

"And you're not the least bit worried?" Payton asks me slowly, as if it's difficult for him to understand.

I shrug as I glance at the sign again before realizing that it's been written in blood. "Yeah...I'll start on that once I get a donut. Anybody want some?"

I point to the bakery shop nearby as I stare at them. Briar and Mac are smirking in amusement, Cleo's jaw is dropped, Payton face palms himself and Roman just shakes his head with a knowing look as he's already used to it.

"I'll get a variety!" I grin before making my way across the road.

I step inside and sigh in content when the smell of baking envelopes me in what feels like a warm hug. Walking up to the girl at the counter I pick a selection of pastries before paying. I grab my chocolate donut and take a bite as I leave the store. The team is still at the scene talking to themselves with frowns on their faces.

I'm about to cross the road when I hear a car coming up behind me. I stop before turning when suddenly someone grabs my arm and tugs me against the car. I slam against it with a groan and cry out in pain when my forehead is struck hard. The man who's covered half of his face shoves me back onto the ground and I fall. My vision blackens as my eyelids droop of their own accord and I hear the car speed off. Screams and shouts echo in the air before pounding footsteps make their way towards me.

My right temple stings like a bitch and I can feel something wet on it which I assume is blood. The guy hit me so hard I saw stars as I fell so it won't surprise me if I'm bleeding. I feel a throbbing pain take over my entire head and an involuntary whimper escapes my lips at how intense it is.

"Elena!" I feel someone pull me closer to them before their hand cups my cheek.

I struggle to open my eyes and just about make out Roman's worried face before I'm out like a light.

"She's not going to like this."

"I'm aware." I mutter as I sign the payment form and hand it to the nurse. "But by the time I have her secure and safe it'll be too late."

Mac sighs heavily before nodding in understanding. We rushed Elena to the hospital after she was attacked. She lost a lot of blood from the head wound and needed stitches but thankfully the scans came back normal with no serious complications. She's been resting for more than a day now and being monitored.

I've made the decision to bring her back to Texas and keep her in my home. It's decked out with security so that will ensure that D.S. or his men won't be able to get inside nor can Elena leave unless I let her. I know she's going to hate it with her restless personality that craves adventure but it's for the best. She's being targeted by a serial killer and has already been attacked. I can't allow her to get hurt again.

I walk back to her room and step inside before taking a seat beside her. She has a thick bandage around her forehead which hides the stitches she got. I grimace when I spot her scraped jaw and cheekbone from her fall. They're an angry red and I know it'll hurt when she wakes up.

Seeing someone hurt her made my blood boil. All I want to do is find the man who did it and rip him to shreds but her safety is more important right now. Within the first four hours of her being brought here there's been suspicious men lurking around the hospital. It doesn't settle well with me and further drives home the need to protect her at all costs.

"What am I going to do with you?" I whisper as my gaze drifts to her peaceful sleeping form once more.

I find a smile gracing my lips as I realize she would've most likely said something cheeky or flirty if she was awake. Her personality and the fact that she has no filter draws me in like a moth to a flame. Although she's been a pain in my ass for the most part I'd be lying straight through my teeth if I said I don't enjoy our time together.

"Rome?" She rubs her eye with a yawn.

Fuck...I love it when she calls me that, I think to myself. I stand and take a seat beside her on the bed. "Hey, feeling any better?"

"Yeah, the pain isn't as bad now." She smiles sleepily and her words make me chuckle. She's been saying that ever since she woke up and has yet to realize that she's on medication for the pain.

"That's good. They're going to check your stitches for any infections soon and tell us how to take care of them, okay?" I brush away a strand of her hair that fell on her bandage as she shifted. "Hungry?"

"Depends if the food is good." She smirks lazily and I shake my head in amusement.

"It's meh." I shrug halfheartedly before shooting her a stern look when she opens her mouth. "No, I'm not sneaking in some fast food."

"Buzzkill." She pouts as she swats my arm. "Did they say when I can get out of here?"

"They need to change your bandages and run some more scans. If everything looks good you'll be discharged within a few hours and we can head home." I explain and watch her eyelids droop again. She's been going in and out of sleep which is going to work perfectly for me.

"Alright...wake me up...when...they're...here." She sighs at the end before settling down and her breathing evens out in no time.

Thirty minutes later the doctor and nurse come in to take her for more scans after checking on her stitches. I follow her out the door and nod to the team to keep an eye on her. Mac and I walk through the hospital to see if any men are still lurking and where. We find two cars in the front but none in the back and we conclude that the back exit is the route we're going to take to get to the airport.

After Elena is shown how to take care of her wound, which I also memorize, she's discharged. She nods as the doctor tells her that she needs to get her wound checked within two weeks or if she spots any signs of an infection. We thank the doctor and the nurse before I take her hand. I wrap an arm around her waist and hold her to me just in case she starts feeling dizzy or tired.

"I can walk Rome." She grumbles but leans against me anyways.

"Just let me take care of you okay?" I sigh as the familiar feeling of guilt makes my chest ache, something which I've been feeling ever since she got hurt.

"This isn't your fault." She picks up on it immediately and stops.

"Yes, it is. I should have stopped you at the start instead of –"

"Rome." She pleads as she clutches the material of my shirt in her hands. "This is not your fault. If anything, it's that stronzo D.S. who I need to get my hands on! I'm going to strangle him to death!" [Asshole]

I face palm myself with a low groan as I watch her walk away. I was right in predicting that she won't want to stay still after waking up. Now I don't feel so bad for what I'm about to do when we reach Houston. With a heavy sigh I catch up to her and pull her close to me again when she clutches her head.

"It's hurting?"

"Badly. I've felt fine ever since I woke up though." She frowns thoughtfully as we make our way towards the back exit with the team surrounding us.

"Elena...they gave you painkillers." I deadpan and watch her mouth form an 'o' in realization.

"Please tell me you got a fuck ton of those?" She bites her lip and like always I can't help but stare.

"Don't worry I got them." Mac grins and winks at her when she smiles gratefully.

"Thank you!" She replies before her chocolate brown eyes sparkle mischievously. "Say Mac, are you hungry?"

"Starved! I could do with a burger right now." He pats his belly and I shake my head when I realize where she's going with this.

"We should get food before the flight!" She beams while fully ignoring my hard stare.

"Hell yeah!" Mac replies and I hear the others murmur their agreements.

Her warm brown eyes find mine and I smile in amusement when she grins proudly. A pretty blush graces her cheeks which makes her freckles pop. She doesn't do it often since she's so bold but she looks so much more gorgeous when she blushes.

"Can we?" She asks softly and my gaze flickers from her bandage to the red scrapes on her soft skin.

"Whatever you want."

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- R.W. ♡