Chapter 32

Viv looked at the note, all the blood draining from her face.

You shouldn’t have accepted him as your mate. Now his sins will be wrought upon you.

“Ma’am. Are you alright? Was I wrong to give it to you? The man just said to give it to the woman librarian. I’m so sorry.” The boy scrambled for his phone. “Should I call 911?”

“No. No, it’s not anything wrong you did. He isn’t a nice person though, so if you see him again, you need to stay away from him, okay?” Viv said, trying not to spook the child. It wasn’t his fault some asshole used him to get a message through the library’s wards.

She grabbed her phone; she called Thomas and then Liam. Thomas hadn’t gotten any messages at work. Liam promised to come get the note. She wanted to call Mac, but she was going to wait until Liam and her boss arrived. She would wait until she was on the way home to call Mac. She knew he was on a job and didn’t want to distract him, especially if this note had anything to do with it.

Liam came in, maybe ten minutes later. He must have sped on his way over, his partner coming in behind him.

“Thank you for coming, I wasn’t sure who else to call. Mac is out on a case, and I didn’t want to disturb him if he’s in the middle of something,” Viv said.

“Can you tell us what happened? I’m Gina, I’m not sure if you remember me or not,” she said, holding out her hand to shake.

She vaguely remembered seeing both of them at the hospital when they came to check on her and assure her the fifth man had been caught as well, but so much of that time was a feverish blur. “It’s nice to meet you again,” Viv replied, shaking her hand. “Mac put wards over the library, the parking lot, and my car. We have them at the house too. I don’t know if this person has been trying to get to me before and couldn’t because of the wards, but they sent a child in with the note.”

“Is the kid still here?” Gina asked.

Viv nodded. “He’s over at that table, red beanie hat. I don’t know his name, but he’s in here a lot after school. His mom should be here in a few minutes to pick him up.”

“I’ll go see if he can call his mom so I have permission to talk to him. I want to get a description of the man while it’s still pretty fresh,” Gina said before walking over and crouching down to the boy’s height. Viv kept an eye on them, not wanting him to be frightened.

“Do you have the note? I can try to grab fingerprints off it, see if it hits anything in either of the databases.”

Viv handed over the note and the envelope. She did not want to keep it and was happy to get it away from her.

“Did you let Mac know?” he asked, sealing it in a plastic evidence bag.

“I will. I was going to wait until I was on my way home,” Viv replied. Liam gave her a look. “I promise I will let him know! He’s been tracking someone they think is a serial killer and I don’t want to distract him if he’s in the middle of something.”

“Fair enough. Let D know at the very least so he can be more aware. Did Thomas get anything?” Liam asked.

“No, I called him, but he didn’t get anything. I don’t think it has to do with the kidnapping, I think it’s one of Mac’s other cases,” Viv answered. She watched as Gina handed the phone back to the boy, pulling out a pad of paper, taking notes as the boy answered. It looked like she might be sketching as well.

“I can work through the human and nonhuman channels, so I want you to call me if something else comes up,” Liam said, bringing her attention back to him.

“Do you think he’ll send something else?” Viv asked, worried.

“I don’t know. But if you get any calls, messages, anything that seems weird, you call me. Here’s Gina’s number too, if for some reason you can’t get ahold of me. Sometimes I don’t get great reception if I’m in certain parts of Arlysium or Netherworld. Gina stays back in the human world while I’m there, so we don’t miss anything important. Call her if you can’t get me, okay?”

“I will, thanks.”

Gina came over, a rough sketch in her hand.

“He had a decent memory,” she said, holding out the sketch. “Do you recognize this guy?”

Viv looked at the paper, trying to think back to everyone she had run into lately, coffee shop, grocery store, post office. She shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so. He doesn’t look familiar.”

“Okay. It’s probably not a perfect fit, but it might be close. I’ll see if we can grab any video footage from the surrounding areas. He’s tall, but of course that’s coming from a child, so I’m not sure how tall. Blond hair, brown eyes. They could be hazel, kids often just say brown. No scars or tattoos that he could see. White guy. I know it’s not the best, but it’s better than we had to start with. I’ll let you know if we find anything on the video,” Gina promised.

“Thank you both,” Viv said, breathing a sigh of relief. Just knowing that someone would be looking into it made her feel better.

She pushed it to the back of her head, other than apologizing to the mother when she rushed in to pick up her son. Viv immersed herself in work for the rest of the day. As she walked to her car, she kept her car keys in her hands, eyes looking all around. She didn’t see anyone loitering outside the library’s grounds. Getting in her car, she locked the doors and buckled in before taking out her phone to send a text to Mac. She figured it wouldn’t distract him as much as a phone call and he could call when he was free.

Hey. Someone delivered a threatening note to work today. Liam took it and is looking into it. I hope you’re being safe. Love you.

Viv hit send before smacking herself. She hadn’t said ‘I love you’ to him in person yet.

Her phone rang right away, the screen showing Mac’s image on the caller id.

“Hello,” she answered.

“What kind of note?” he asked right away, anger and fear in his voice.

“It said something along the lines of I shouldn’t have taken you as my mate and that your sins would be wrought upon me.”

“Shit. I have a serial killer leaving notes with old-fashioned words like wrought. Any visuals?”

“He gave the note to a boy to bring in. He gave a description to Gina and she made a rough sketch. Blond hair, brown eyes, no visible scars or tattoos. Gina said kids often say brown for hazel or brown, they don’t really differentiate. While the boy said he was tall, Gina wasn’t sure exactly what that would be. She’s looking for video footage from the surrounding areas trying to see if she can find someone who matches the description. I didn’t recognize the sketch, but if it was just someone I passed on the street, I don’t think I would remember them. He was average looking,” Viv told him.

“I’m coming home tonight,” Mac said.

“You don’t have to,” Viv protested. “The case is important and if it’s the same guy, you’ll solve two cases at once.”

“I need to hold you tonight,” Mac told her. “I ran into a dead-end today anyway, so a break overnight will be good. I’ll grab dinner for everyone on the way home.”

“I can’t wait to see you. I could use a hug,” Viv admitted.

“By the way, I love you too,” Mac said, laughter in his voice.

“It just slipped out, what a horrible way to tell you the first time. I do love you though,” she said.

“I know. You wouldn’t have accepted me as your mate if you didn’t,” Mac replied. “I’ll see you tonight. I need to wrap a few things up before I can come home.”

“Be safe,” Viv said.

She felt better after having talked to Mac. She missed him in their bed. This case had kept him out late or leaving early, he hadn’t spent an entire night with her in days. Maybe they could have some sexy times tonight, she thought with a grin. She had an almost sheer black dress with slits up to her hips. It was really more lingerie but was cut like a dress. That should get his attention. She loved having a plan.