Page 95 of Breathe Me In

I turned to Bree, but she held up her hand to speak first. “I know, you need to work on your case, and I need to get back to my night.” She moved past me, but I caught her arm discreetly.

“Just do me a favor, if you see anything off, just call me, don’t engage. If I’m right about who this is, he’ll try and kill you.”

“Apparently, so did Ford, but I handled myself well in that situation. Don’t you think?” She was right. She’d been great, but this was different. “All the more reason we need to get this guy tonight.” She then shook her head. “Oh wait, sorry, not we. I’m not a part of this.” She glared and pushed past me. “Have you asked yourself why he’d pick such a public place to meet? Maybe he’s onto you too.” Her face spoke volumes as she looked around. She was right. I had thought about that, but we needed confirmation that it was indeed him, and if it was, we were coming for him.

“Good luck on your case, Detective Stone.” The fact that she called me Detective Stone hit hard.

I took a deep, calming breath and tried to get my head back on the job.

Kennedy took a chance with Cap’s temper and used the radio again. “Yeah, she’s pissed, dude.”

“Can you blame her?” I radioed. “Sorry, Cap.”

“Possible suspect entering the north gate,” Ellis chimed in over the radio, and I snapped back into work mode. “Black hat, green jacket, jeans. Stand by for confirmation.”

“Kennedy.” I looked around. “Where’s Sherry?”

“Ferris wheel.”

I went over and ducked under the rope. “Hey, man.” I flashed my badge at the worker. “See those two women up there?”

He stepped back and leaned to look up. “Yeah, pink seat?” He pointed to the stripe on the bottom of the bucket seat.

“Yeah. Do me a favor and keep them on this ride until I get back.” I handed him a fifty. I couldn’t risk one of Sherry’s jealousy moments ruining everything.

“Sure thing, boss.”

“Kennedy, do you have eyes on Bree?”

“Coming up on your right.”

Hank appeared and blocked my view of where Bree was headed. “Bradley, finally taking some time off?” He smiled. “Nice to see you out enjoying yourself.”

I stepped back, then smiled warmly. “Hey, Hank. Not surprised to see you. I know you rarely miss a fair day.”

“True, Michelle and I never miss it.” He gave his wife a side hug.

“Nice to see you, Michelle.” I smiled again as my radio crackled in my ear. I fought to not react to it. I desperately wanted to know where Bree was.

Hank seemed to catch the moment and gave a quick wave. “Well, I’m sure you want to get back to your evening. I’m sure it’ll be more eventful than ours.” He huffed a laugh. “Us older folk are on our way to buy cotton candy so we can later regret it.”

“I hear the blue is the best.” I’d actually never tried that spun sugar coma, and I never planned to. “You two have a great night.” As I turned, I heard Kennedy let go of his breath over the earpiece.

“No one move until he hits his mark,” Cap spoke. “We need to be a hundred percent sure he’s our guy. There’s no goddamn way we’re gonna blow this case because someone else answered that text.”

“He’s walking, he’s walking,” Ellis whispered. “Okay, Stone, start heading that way. Bostwick and Stanley, you two go get into position.”

“On it.” My adrenaline spiked in anticipation. I had mixed feelings about the whole thing, but it was what it was.

“Kennedy?”

“Fun house.” I didn’t have to ask again. He knew I meant Bree.

The radio crackled again as I kept a steady pace toward the mark. Cap’s excited voice broke over the radio. “We got positive DNA off Maggie’s dress. You were right, Stone! He got sloppy.” A part of me didn’t want to believe that it was him, yet here we were. “Keep your eyes peeled. He’ll be jumpy, and he may not be working alone. Everyone hold your positions and be ready. There’re a lot of people here.”

“Copy that, Cap,” I answered for all of us. I’d convinced Cap to go with my suspicions even before the DNA results came back, but it was good to have it confirmed before we moved in. I scanned every face as I moved toward a concession stand. “Let’s also assume he’s carrying.” I paid for some popcorn and opened my phone like I was anyone else waiting for someone to get off a ride. I popped the salty goodness into my mouth and kept my eyes on the crowd under the rim of my ball cap.

“Stone.” Kennedy’s voice alerted me something was wrong. “I have eyes on the suspect—he’s now entering the fun house.” Bree! I tossed the popcorn and raced off in that direction.