Chapter Six - Sewn Shut

Walking upstairs I make my way down to the last door in the hallway of the motel I'm staying at before unlocking the door. After catching up with Hailey on a two hour Skype call in the morning I had popped out to have a late breakfast. Now I'm going to be heading to the site where the recent murders have happened. But I've just stepped inside my room before I hear sharp raps against the door. Frowning I walk over and open it only to be greeted by the sight of a pissed off Roman Jackson.

"Hey..." I trail off as my cheerful greeting falls flat once he narrows his eyes murderously. "Oh, come on Romi! Don't be like that!"

"Let me in." He orders quietly as he puts his foot between the door and threshold to stop me from closing it on him.

"Promise you won't stay mad." I tilt my chin stubbornly.

I can almost hear him grinding his teeth together in agitation. "I promise."

"And that you won't kill me."

"Elena!" He all but snarls in disbelief but I stare back at him expectantly. "Fine! I promise!"

"Then welcome to my humble, temporary abode." I smile widely as I let him in.

He steps inside and I watch his eyes roam around the room. I take in his attire and he's wearing a casual green jumper, black jeans and combat boots. As always he looks handsome and way out of my league. But a girl can dream.

"You can't be involved in this." He finally speaks and raises his hand to shut me up when I open my mouth to protest. "You can't identify yourself as a journalist associated with a specific news organisation anymore and it makes everything about this unethical. Even if you were you'd still be restricted from an ongoing case. If anyone finds out that I let you carry out your own little investigation and get near crime scenes with the possibility of tampering with evidence then I'm fired."

"But I've been finding more leads on this case earlier than you have! Hell, I'm the one giving you the information!" I argue and he pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Elena, please...try to understand my position. I'm a member of the police force. I'm meant to protect people, not give them the green light to go running towards danger!" He huffs as he crosses his arms.

I realize I'm not going to win with him. I know I'm being irrational but I need this story to get that job in Canada. As morbid as it sounds the story needs to get juicier and so far it's not there yet which means I'm no closer to packing up and getting the hell out of here.

"Fine. I won't interfere with your investigation anymore."

"But you'll continue with your own." He counters and my jaw drops at how he knew what I was thinking. "Unbelievable! You're going to be the death of me!"

"Roman, nobody's going to find out –"

"It still goes against everything I stand for! How the hell am I supposed to concentrate on this damn serial killer if all I'll be doing is thinking about whether you're okay or becoming his next victim?!" He argues back and I sag against the wall.

It's quiet for a few minutes before he sighs loudly. I peek up at him to see his entire body relax before he walks over to me. My eyes meet his tired ones and I feel like the worst person ever for making his life ten times harder. Maybe I shouldn't have met him? I think to myself.

"Why are you so persistent on being involved in this case?" He asks softly and I immediately avert my eyes.

"You're going to think I'm stupid. I mean you already hate me anyways for following this case." I mumble as I shake my head.

"I don't hate you Elena." He runs a hand through his hair before tilting my chin up with his index finger. "Tell me...please."

I gulp harshly and it takes me a few seconds to decide on telling him. "I got offered a job in Canada but I need to wow the CEO with a news story. This is my story to get in."

His brows furrow as his eyes flicker with confusion. "That's the only way you get hired?"

"No, but I got fired remember? When this CEO called up my old one about me he certainly didn't get a stellar review. So, if I can present a story worthy enough of being a headline then there's no reason for him to refuse." I explain and bite my lip nervously as I wait for his reaction.

He's quiet for what feels like hours but it's only a few minutes. The door knocks and I frown in confusion before making my way over to it and opening it. The motel owner stands there with a dark brown envelope in her outstretched hand. I take it from her when I see my name printed on a white label.

"This arrived for you with the mail just a few minutes ago." She says before leaving to go back downstairs.

I close the door before looking down at the envelope again. Nobody knows my exact location, not even Hailey or my family, so who the hell sent me this? I wonder to myself. I glance up at Roman as I open it and he has his eyes narrowed in suspicion too. Taking out the folded piece of paper I open only for my eyes to widen when I see a batch of photographs...of me.

I flick through them and realize that they were all taken during my trips to crime scenes and places of interest in the murder cases. When Roman senses that something is wrong he steps up and takes them from me one by one as I go through them. The very last picture is of me standing at the side of a road in Louisiana yesterday evening near a crime scene. But in the distance behind me stands a man covered in black from head to toe. It's obvious from his choice of clothing that he's male. But his hood is up so his face is unidentifiable, his pale hands are clenched tightly and one of them holds a sharp dagger. My heart races in fear as I pass that one to Roman before reading the note.

Elena Moretti,

You've taken too much of an interest in my victims and me. I don't like it.

This is not a warning to convince you to drop your research on my case.

I want you.

You've pissed me off and now you'll die by my hands.

And after driving you insane I'll eventually slit your throat...after a little fun, of course.

You're just as pretty as my victims, too bad you turned out to be just as stupid as them.

I'll see you soon.

Love,

D.S.

I feel Roman stiffen beside me as he reads the note over my shoulder. He releases a furious growl of sorts as he snatches the paper from my trembling hands. His emerald eyes re-read the lines again and again until he sighs in frustration. They meet my warm browns and for a moment we stare at each other in silence.

"This is what I meant." He utters lowly and I nod mutely.

"Even if I stop now –"

"It doesn't matter to him. You're one of his next targets." He finishes my sentence in a hushed tone.

"Well, what should I do now?" I lean against the wall with crossed arms.

"You're not scared?" His brows shoot up in surprise.

"I've reported amid war battlegrounds. This is nothing compared to being seconds away from being shot, decapitated or bombed." I shrug as I fight to push those memories to the back of my mind. But my skin still crawls with that overwhelming feeling as if I'm right there again.

"You're sticking with me and my team." He states firmly after a long moment and my eyes snap up to meet his. "No more running off on your own. You are not to leave my sight, understood?"

"Is that the safest option?"

"If you go under police protection you'll be staying in one place which is easier for him to infiltrate. With me you'll be moving after him, not ahead of him. I'll be talking to my supervisor about this today and if anything changes I'll let you know." He explains before nodding to my things. "Let's hope I don't get fucking fired. Grab your stuff, I'll introduce you to some of the team."

I quickly pack my backpack and follow him out the door. We leave the motel and get into his car before driving off to an apartment they're staying at. It's a tall building in a row of numerous other apartments and as we make our way inside I find that it's quite spacious. There's currently four people in the open plan kitchen and sitting room. Their eyes snap to me in confusion but there's one man who doesn't seem surprised and adorns a gleeful expression.

Roman introduces me to them all and I greet them with a big smile. The man who is staring at me cheerfully is Mac and Roman's long-time partner. He has jet black hair with dark brown eyes. He's quite muscled and intimidating but when he greets me I find that he's very friendly and warm. He also has a mix of sharp and soft features.

Next is Payton who is a pale redhead with brown eyes and a lanky figure. Apparently, he's one of the team's best hackers alongside Briar. Briar has an olive complexion and long bright red hair. She's around the same height as me, maybe a few inches taller, and is quite toned but curvy with sharp features.

Lastly I'm introduced to Cleo who I'm told is currently in training. She has a curvy figure just like Briar with pastel blue hair that is braided right now. Her eyes are hazel and catlike which contrast with her soft features and caramel colored skin.

"It's nice to meet you all! I'm Elena." I smile as we all take a seat on the couches.

"I don't mean to sound rude but what exactly is Elena doing here? We're not supposed to reveal ourselves to the public." Payton frowns in confusion as he glances between Roman and I.

Thankfully, Roman explains everything with the occasional input from me until the team is staring at me with an amused look. I grin cheekily and match Mac's expression which only serves to piss Roman off even more. He certainly doesn't seem like the cheeriest person when compared to everyone else. Roman refrains from telling them about the threat earlier and I understand that he needs to get confirmation from his supervisor first.

"Right, we need to visit the site and get more information about the girls –"

"One was his ex and he was dating the other two, long distance." I suddenly remember my notes from yesterday. "He's sewing lips shut now."

"How do you know that?" Briar frowns thoughtfully.

"School memorial. People talk." I shrug as I meet Roman's gaze. "Apparently he was successful in his studies and happy with his ex when he used to live here but the other two girls quickly started noticing strange things about him that they mentioned to their friends. Two different high schools."

"You didn't go anywhere near the site did you?" He narrows his eyes suspiciously.

"No."

"Liar." He mutters under his breath and his eyes glint as he remembers the picture of me near the crime scene which makes me smirk.

"Alright, I just had a little peek. It's surrounded by cops and forensics anyways." I roll my eyes playfully. "I was waiting on you to catch up."

He stares at me in a bemused fashion while everyone else snickers quietly. "Let's get going then. We'll get a closer look at the site."

I perk up excitedly before grabbing my backpack and following him to the door with the rest of the team behind us. He glances down at me as he opens the door and I duck under his arm to pass. As we walk to the car he falls into step with me and shakes his head. I arch a brow questionably and he rolls his eyes.

"You are way too excited about a murder." He shakes his head at me with a frown.

"We're hot on his tail, Romi! This D.S. is in for a real shock when we catch him before he achieves his target count!" I smirk confidently as I open the door.

"I told you not to call me that!" He snaps in annoyance as everyone bursts out laughing while his cheeks tinge with pink. "And why do you think he has a target count?"

"Fine, I'm calling you Rome then." I strap myself in before glancing in the mirror to see the others getting into a second car parked across the street. "And I don't know, I have a feeling this one does."

"Why did I ever agree to you tagging along?" He asks himself in a hushed tone and avoids my annoyed gaze before driving off.

Vote if you are enjoying this story!

Click the link in my bio or announcement post to read my book faster!

- R.W. ♡