I Can Hunt: An FBI Thriller (The O'Reilly Files Book 2)

by Angela Kay

  “Just wanted to come by and say thanks for the breaking news.”

  Aidan leaned back in his chair, studying the reporter for a minute.

  “Sure,” Aidan told him. “A promise was a promise.”

  “Great,” Jordan replied. “Been a blast, but let’s not do this again. I can’t take you in bulk.”

  “Imagine how I feel every time I see your segment on TV.”

  Jordan offered a mischievous smile. “Don’t worry, O’Reilly. You’ll be seeing me still. I’ll be bigger than ever.”

  “I’m sure.”

  After a mock salute, Jordan turned to walk away.

  “Hey, Blake.”

  He turned back.

  Aidan remained silent a beat, then pushed out a long sigh. He rose from his chair, extending his hand. Jordan took it with hesitation.

  “Stay out of trouble, will you?”

  The corner of Jordan’s lips turned into a crooked smile. “You’re welcome, O’Reilly. I suppose this makes us even?”

  “Not in the slightest, Blake.”

  “Didn’t think so.” With a chuckle, Jordan walked away.

  “Aidan.”

  He looked up to see Shaun calling him as he made his way toward Monroe’s office. Aidan pushed to his feet to follow.

  “Something’s going on?”

  “You could say that,” Shaun muttered.

  When they entered Monroe’s office, she stood, arms crossed, staring at her television. Director Zane was also present, his eyebrows scrunched together with fury.

  “What’s going on?” Aidan wondered.

  “Max Van Camp was shot and killed coming out of court this morning,” Monroe said.

  “What? Who’s the perpetrator?”

  “Judge Deacon Paris,” Monroe answered.

  His heart feeling as if it were lodged in his throat, Aidan watched the news segment, showing the replay the Scavenger Hunter exiting the court building in cuffs. Deacon Paris approached, pulled out a gun, shooting him point-blank. Officers pulled their weapons, pushing him to the ground.

  “I can’t believe he did that,” Shaun muttered.

  “I can,” Aidan said. “He’s in a world of pain. His sons are dead now because of something he failed to do twelve years ago. If I were in his shoes, I’m not so sure I’d be able to live with the…knowing.”

  “Sins of the father,” Zane commented.

  “Well, this is one breaking news Jordan Blake won’t get,” Shaun said. “Wonder how he’s going to handle that?”

  “One miss won’t break him. I’m sure even he gets that.”

  Zane turned to face Aidan and Shaun. “You did an exemplary job. Both of you.”

  “We can’t take all the credit, sir,” Aidan said. “Jordan Blake had a hand in a lot of it.”

  “Yes, well, I’m glad to know we’ve managed to wrap this one efficiently. I need to get back to Washington. Thank you all for a job well done.”

  Zane left, closing the door behind him.

  “I agree,” Monroe said. “You did well, and handled the Jordan Blake situation quite remarkably. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I did the right thing putting him with you, especially after O’Reilly knocked him off his feet.”

  Aidan released a wry chuckle. “Neither did I.”

  “Dismissed, gentlemen.”

  “Thank you, Monroe,” Aidan and Shaun said in unison.

  They walked out of the office.

  “Seems to me you’ve grown fond of our reporter friend,” Shaun said, keeping his expression straight, though when Aidan glanced up into his eyes, he could have sworn he saw laughter.

  “I’m not fond of him,” Aidan insisted. “I can’t stand him.”

  “He’s going around telling people he’s saved your life, isn’t he? He’s making claim that owns you now. He’s never going to let you forget it.”

  O’Reilly shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t. What matters is we stopped Van Camp from carrying out his vengeance on others.

  Shaun chuckled. “You surprise me, buddy. How about a bite to eat? I’m starved.”

  “Nah, I’m going home,” Aidan said. “I told Cheyenne I’d take her to the gynecologist. Raincheck?”

  “Sure thing,” Shaun said. “I’ll just get takeout. It’ll give me more time to prepare for my date tonight.”

  Aidan’s eyebrow shot up. “You’ve got a date?”

  “Yup,” Shaun said. “With Laura. Finally asked her.”

  “Wow,” Aidan said, failing to mask his amazement. “Good luck with that one.”

  “Hey, you owe me a story. Declan O’Malley. Your school bully, remember?”

  “I would, but I’ve got to run,” Aidan said. “Talk to you later, all right?”

  Before Shaun could respond, Aidan grabbed his things from his desk and sprinted out the door.

  Once he was in his car, he texted Cheyenne to let him know he was on the way home.

  He started the car when the phone rang.

  “O’Reilly.”

  “Hello. This is a collect call from ‘an old friend’ at Georgia State Government Corrections. Press one to accept, two to decline.”

  Aidan’s first thought was to decline the call, but he knew he couldn’t. He knew who was trying to contact him, and he wanted to watch every move he made, to make sure he was where he was supposed to be.

  Aidan accepted the call, and silence filled the line.

  “Who is this?”

  “Don’t you know my breathing by now? Your girlfriend does. We did spend a lot of time together.”

  Aidan’s blood ran cold at the recognition of the voice.

  “Grant Rivers,” Aidan said. “Why are you calling me?”

  “Just checking on an old friend.” Grant chuckled. “Congrats on another case solved. Makes me eager to match wits again.”

  “Good luck with that,” Aidan said.

  “Don’t worry, I’m just biding my time, making new friends. Timing is important, you know. And I may be locked up for now, but, Aidan…” Grant lowered his voice. “…I can kill, and you can’t catch me.”

  With that, the phone call ended.

  Aidan’s heart beat wildly in his chest. Even though the collect call was a heads up, he contacted the prison Grant Rivers was in to confirm he was still in jail.

  He was.

  And Aidan intended on making sure he stayed that way.

  Forcing the Carnations Killer from his mind, Aidan set the car in motion to go home to his girlfriend.

  Have you missed the one that started it all? Read an excerpt on the following pages and don’t forget to click here to buy!

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  I Can Kill

  Sneak peek

  23

  The next few days were quiet.

  Aidan didn’t receive any messages from The Carnations Killer, and there were no reports of another victim found anywhere in the city.

  It was quiet.

  He found that unsettling.

  Aidan spent his days and nights reviewing the information in the file, willing for vital information to appear.

  Shaun and Aidan, along with a few other agents, spent a good deal of their time calling the families of the victims, asking questions they’d already answered in years past. Aidan wasn’t sure about the families Shaun and the others talked to, but the ones he dealt with seemed to want to move on from the nightmare they’d suffered.

  A part of them wanted to forget they’d ever lost their loved ones, others pleaded for him to tell them there had been some new development.

  Aidan couldn’t decide which was worse: the ones that wanted to give up or the ones holding onto the glimmer of hope justice would finally be given to them.

  It was for this reason he couldn’t stand talking to the families. He was never good at it. He was afraid he'd become too emotional, and the families were emotional enough wit
hout adding his own feelings.

  Aidan stopped by Shaun’s cubical to see if he was getting anywhere. He heard him consoling someone over the phone, promising he was doing everything he could to find the man who took away their loved one. He offered a small smile to the phone, which told Aidan he’d done what he'd set out to do.

  After hanging up, he typed something into the computer.

  “How do you do it?”

  “Do what?” Shaun kept his focus on the screen.

  “You talk to the grieving families, but by the time you’ve finished the conversation, it seems they feel better than they did minutes before.”

  “I guess people feel like they can confide in me. Most people know the tears and fears don’t help. They just want somebody to understand. They want somebody to listen.”

  “I guess that’s my weak point,” Aidan muttered. “I never know what to say to them.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. That’s what listening means,” Shaun replied, the corner of his lips turning upward. He looked at Aidan, studied him. “Why did you want to become an agent?”

  Aidan widened his eyes at the unexpected question. “What?”

  He repeated himself.

  “Because I wanted to be in law enforcement.”

  Shaun contemplated the statement before responding. Aidan tried to guess what he was thinking but came empty.

  “If you wanted to be in law enforcement,” Shaun replied, “then you could have been a beat cop. It’s less demanding. Instead, you chose to be a federal agent. You investigate serial killings, terrorism, things of that nature.”

  “I guess I believed I could do more good as an agent than a regular cop. Or even a detective.”

  Shaun nodded. “So basically, you want to help people in a bigger way. Bring down a serial offender who’d been killing for ten years or so.” He put his hands behind his head. “What will happen if you never catch this guy?”

  “I’ve got to.” Aidan put his hands on the edge of the desk and leaned over, his voice in a harsh whisper. He squared his jaw. “He’s got to be caught, Shaun. I need to catch him. If I don’t, then—"

  “Then what, Aidan? If you don’t catch him, what?”

  Aidan’s breath rose and fell in quick motions. He realized the edge of the desk was digging into the palms of his hands. Shaun watched him with curious eyes but remained calm and silent as he waited for an answer.

  Aidan found himself wanting to scream that if he didn’t catch this guy, then he’d continue to kill. Aidan wanted to shout that if the offender kept killing, everything he had worked for in his career would be for nothing.

  But Aidan didn’t say any of that.

  He righted himself and ran a hand through his hair. He calmed his breathing as he realized it was happening: he was becoming obsessive.

  Or maybe he already was.

  Aidan had promised Cheyenne it wouldn’t happen to him. He promised he wouldn’t lose himself in The Carnations Killer investigation.

  Not this time.

  Not again.

  Aidan looked at Shaun, who was still watching him. His curious gaze turning into concern.

  “I want the families to have justice,” Aidan told him quietly. “That’s all I want.”

  “It’s okay to feel close to this,” Shaun replied in kind. “But even the best agents need to take a break. All you’ve ever done is try to catch him. It’s not going to be whether or not you take the job at Quantico that’ll cost your relationship with Cheyenne. If she sees you going off the deep end, that is when she will leave. Because a wild-eyed, obsessive federal agent isn’t any woman’s fantasy.”

  Aidan hated to admit it, but he knew Shaun was right. He had lived and breathed the investigation for ten years, and now that he has returned, it was all Aidan thought about. He’d left him messages. He was taunting him. He was hinting at the things he planned on doing. But he was a ghost. He had Aidan pulled in a game of cat and mouse, and Aidan couldn’t tell whether he was the cat chasing the mouse, or if he was the mouse running from the cat.

  “You’re right,” Aidan said, finally.

  Shaun smiled. “Of course, I am.”

  Aidan looked at his wristwatch and said, “You know what? I’m going to take today off. I think it’d do me good.”

  Shaun nodded. “I agree.”

  Aidan returned to his desk to finish his paperwork, then logged out of the computer and gathered his things.

  He left the office to go home to Cheyenne.

  Don’t forget to click here to buy!

  A Note from the Author

  Thank you so much for reading I Can Hunt. I truly hope you enjoyed it and leave a review on Amazon. Writing Aidan’s and Shaun’s investigation into serial killers is both fun and nightmarish. I spend so much time invested in learning more about the real-life serial killers and watching the Investigation Discovery channel. Why are serial killers so interesting? I don’t have an answer for that. I suppose it’s human nature to be engrossed in the darkness of the mind.

  Stay tuned for more Aidan O’Reilly and Shaun Henderson. There are more serial killers to catch and their dedication is inspiring—to me, anyway.

  Thank you again for turning the pages! If you haven’t already, don’t forget to click here now to buy I Can Kill, book one of The O’Reilly Files.

  Sincerely,

  Angela Kay

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to Ron Hester for taking the time in doing an amazing job editing.

  Very special thanks to Mom and Joe.

  Last, but certainly not least, an extra special thanks to God for never ceasing to make yourself known to me in everyday life. You’re my Rock and my Comfort.