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Shadow Hunt, Shadow Point Security Romantic Suspense Series, Book 1
©2026 Misty Evans
Garrett gave himself twenty minutes to secure the compound before the Countdown Killer made his next move. Just in case the bastard was actually close by.
The command center was three floors down—monitors covering every angle of the compound, security feeds from perimeter cameras, thermal imaging, motion sensors. Lynx was there when he arrived, fingers flying across keyboards, pulling up data faster than most people could read.
“Show me the post,” Garrett said.
Lynx brought up a screenshot on the main screen from a dark web forum. It was timestamped eighteen minutes ago.
Found you, Claire. Montana looks good on you.
Garrett’s jaw tightened. The stalker wasn’t just taunting her. He was announcing his next move. Trying to make her believe the compound wasn’t safe anymore.
“How’d he find her?” Garrett asked.
“Working on it.” Lynx didn’t look up from his laptop. “But Commander, this location is classified. The only people who knew she was coming here were the Feds and us.”
“Then we have a breach. Either in the Bureau or here.”
“I’d stake my life it’s not here.” Lynx pulled up the compound’s security logs. “No unauthorized access. No unusual communications. We’re clean.”
Which meant the leak had to be inside the FBI.
The door opened. Grizzly came in, tactical vest on, weapon loaded. “Perimeter’s secure. Hawk’s doing a thermal sweep now. You want me on Paperclip’s door?”
“No.” Garrett moved to the weapons locker and started loading magazines. “I’m with her. You’re at the main entrance. No one gets in this building who isn’t vetted by me personally.”
“Copy that.”
The radio crackled. Hawk’s voice: “Hawk to Wolf. Perimeter sweep complete. No thermal signatures within five hundred yards. We’re clear.”
For now.
His blood thrummed with anger. “Understood. Maintain patrol. Report any movement.”
“Copy.”
He turned back to Lynx. “Pull everything we have on this predator. Geography. Timeline. Methods. I want to know how he operates.”
“Already compiled for Dr. Montgomery.” Lynx pulled up files. “Agent Dawson has months of research on this guy. She’s been hunting him since before he went after her.”
Garrett knew that. Which was precisely why he needed her in this briefing, even if every instinct screamed to lock her in her room where nothing could touch her.
The conference room door opened. Claire walked in, dressed in jeans and her FBI sweatshirt, weapon holstered at her hip, credentials clipped to her belt. Not a protectee trying to hide. An agent ready to work and establishing her role with him and his team.
His chest tightened. She looked exhausted—shadows under her eyes, tension in her shoulders. But her spine was straight. Her jaw set.
He moved toward her. “Agent Dawson—”
“Don’t give me that Agent Dawson bullshit, Wolf. I need to be in this briefing.” Her voice was steady. Not asking permission—stating a fact. “I know this man better than any of you in this room. You need me.”
She was right. Damn it, she was right.
Garrett looked at Grizzly, then Lynx. Both were watching the exchange carefully. Waiting for his call.
“Fine,” he said. “But after the briefing, you go back to your room, and you stay there.”
“Agreed.” Claire moved to the conference table and set down her laptop. “Where’s Dr. Montgomery?”
“On her way,” Lynx said.
As Grizzly headed out to set up post at the main entrance, Vivi entered, tablet in hand, looking like she hadn’t slept in days. “Agent Dawson.” Vivi’s voice was warm despite the circumstances. “I’m glad you’re here. We can use your expertise.”
Claire let go of a heavy sigh. “Will everyone stop addressing me as Agent Dawson? Just Claire, please.”
Vivi smiled. Garrett pulled out a chair for Claire. “Everyone, take a seat,” he said. “Let’s review everything from the top. The message tells us he knows Claire is in Montana, but it doesn’t specifically mention this compound or that he’s already in the area. However,”—he circled the end of the conference table, unable to stand still—“we need to assume both. We are Code Red until I ascertain our suspect is not outside our doors.”
They took positions around the table. Garrett remained standing—too wired to sit, too focused to relax. Claire pulled up files on her laptop, and Lynx helped connect them to the main screen.
“We estimate that I’ve been the Countdown Killer’s target for approximately six months,” she said. Her hands were steady as she navigated her files, but Garrett saw the tension in her shoulders. The way her jaw tightened when the stalker’s messages appeared on screen. “Possibly longer.”
She pulled up a timeline. Dates. Incidents. Photos. “Six months ago, I started feeling watched. I didn’t have any evidence. Just… instinct.” She glanced at Garrett. “You know the feeling. When you’re being surveilled.”
He did. Every operator knew that crawling sensation between your shoulder blades. He nodded, encouraging her to go on.
“Four months ago, flowers were delivered to my apartment. No card. No sender information. I reported it to building security. They had no record of a delivery.”
“He hand-delivered them?” Vivi said.
Claire absentmindedly tapped a finger on her laptop. “That’s my guess. Three months ago, a note arrived. Slipped under my apartment door.” She pulled up a photo with an evidence bag. Through the plastic, they could read the handwritten note:
You couldn’t save Lily. Can you save yourself?
Garrett’s hands curled into fists. Lily’s name. Her name. This predator was using his sister’s death to terrorize CJ.
Claire didn’t notice his reaction. She was focused on her presentation, clinical and detached. “I wrote it off as a crank. Two months ago, the surveillance became overt. He sent me photos of me at work, at the grocery store. Getting coffee. He wanted me to know he was watching.”
More photos appeared on the big screen. Claire in the parking garage. Claire at a crosswalk. “The photos escalated. Closer angles. More invasive. And then, the killings started. I didn’t connect them at first—not until I realized the women resembled me and were all survivors. Recently, he sent a package to me with this.” She pulled up another evidence photo.
The bracelet. Silver. Delicate. Identical to Lily’s.
“My best friend Lily was murdered fifteen years ago. She was wearing a bracelet like this when she died. I always wanted a matching one so we’d be twins.” Claire’s voice was steady, but Garrett heard the emotion underneath. “This isn’t an exact replica, but it’s close enough to send a message.”
Vivi nodded. “As I suspected, he’s not just targeting you as a survivor of violence. He’s targeting you specifically because of your connection to Lily Harper.”
“It appears so.” Claire pulled up the timeline again. “Three days ago, I received the first direct threat. A message on my work computer, sent through an encrypted account.”
The text appeared on screen:
You’re all alone, Claire. Your friend couldn’t outrun him. Will you outrun me?
“Meaning Collin Brands, the killer who took Lily and tried to take you?” Garrett asked.
Claire swallowed hard. “That’s what we’re assuming.” She cleared her throat, but the emotions she was holding back were still evident in her eyes. “That’s when SAC Reeves pulled me from the case and sent me here.” Claire’s eyes, so full of sadness mixed with determination, slid to Garrett again. “And now, tonight, he found me.”
Garrett started pacing again. When he caught this asshole…
He took a deep breath and focused on the screen, not Claire’s eyes. “How did you first connect him to the other three murders?”
“The messages. I ran a search through ViCAP for any murders involving victims who’d received repeated text messages before their deaths. I found three cases. All women who’d survived previous violence. All received text messages, as well as handwritten ones and gifts, before they were killed.” Claire pulled up the victim files. “I saw their resemblance to me and that’s when I knew.”
Lynx looked up from his laptop. “And your team has no leads?”
“There’s been no forensics at the crime scenes. He’s careful. Meticulous.” Claire’s frustration was evident. “That’s why I agreed to come here. Reeves thought that if I was off the board, he might make a mistake. Get sloppy.”
Garrett realized that Reeves’ earlier call about having potentially caught the guy was wishful thinking. “Instead, he got insider information and followed you.”
He moved to the screen and studied the timeline. Six months of escalation. Photos. Messages. Gifts. All building to tonight. “Do you have a personal phone with you?” he asked.
Claire frowned. “In my room.”
“I did a surface scan earlier,” Lynx said. “Including both phones. They’re clean.”
Garrett motioned for her to follow him. “Let’s get them. Now. Your clothes, shoes, and luggage, too.” He met Lynx’s eyes. “This time, run a deep diagnostic.”
“Copy that,” Lynx said.
Claire didn’t argue. They went to the room, grabbed her belongings, and returned. They spread the items out on the empty end of the table, and Lynx used a handheld scanner on each piece.
“You think there’s something in my underwear?” she asked Garrett, her cheeks tingeing pink as Lynx ran his scanner over a bra.
“We can’t take chances,” Garrett said, trying to avoid looking at the sexy lace. His mind instantly brought of images of her in it.
A minute later, Lynx plugged both her business and personal phones into his laptop and started running diagnostics. Thirty seconds later, his face darkened. He tapped the personal phone. “Spyware. Military-grade.”
Claire went pale. “What?”
“He’s had access to everything on this phone for—” Lynx narrowed his eyes as he scanned his screen. “Three months at least. GPS. Texts. Emails. Photos. Everything.”
“Oh my god.” Claire sank into her chair. “My texts to my parents. I told them I was going away for work. I didn’t say where, but—”
“But your Bureau emails did,” Garrett finished. “Did you access work email from this phone?”
“Yes. I—I wasn’t thinking. I was packing, I checked my email one last time before I left D.C.” She looked at him, horror in her eyes. “He saw it. He saw the protective detail authorization.”
“Which is how he found you.” Garrett turned to Lynx. “Destroy it. Now.”
Lynx nodded before exiting the room with the phone.
Claire looked like she might be sick. “This is my fault. I led him right here.”
“You’ve been under a lot of stress.” Vivi’s voice was gentle. “And he would have found another way. Predators like this don’t stop. They adapt.”
“Doc is right.” Garrett sat down across from Claire. Made her look at him. “You couldn’t have known. But now we do. Which means we lock everything down. No personal devices. No outgoing communications. Nothing he can trace.”
“Agreed.” Claire took a breath, steadied herself. “What else do you need from me?”
He leaned back. This was going to hurt. But it had to be asked. “I need to know who you suspect.”
“What?”
“Someone installed that spyware. Someone with access to your phone. Your apartment. Your life.” He kept his voice even. “Who has that kind of access? A boyfriend? Neighbor? A coworker?”
“I don’t—” She shook her head. “There is no boyfriend, and no one from work has ever been to my apartment. I don’t know my neighbors that well.”
“Which means he either has keys or knows how to bypass your security.” Garrett had Lynx pull up building schematics on the screen. “Your apartment building—who has master keys?” he asked.
“Building management. Maintenance staff.”
Lynx returned and gave him a nod to assure him the phone and spyware had been destroyed. Too little, too late, but they had no option but to move forward.
“I need their names,” Garrett said to Claire. “All of them.”
Claire rattled off several. Lynx started running background checks immediately.
“What about at headquarters?” Garrett asked. “Who has access to your office?”
“Everyone in my unit. Support staff. IT department.”
“I need their names, too.”
“You need the entire FBI employee list?”
“I’ll handle it,” Vivi said, touching her tablet.
Garrett nodded. “Tell me about SAC Reeves,” he said to Claire.
Her head snapped up. “What about him?”
“How long have you known him?”
“Five years. Since I joined the Bureau.”
“How well do you know him?”
“He’s my supervisor. My mentor.” Her voice had an edge now. “What are you asking?”
“I’m asking if there’s any reason to suspect him.”
Her body went rigid. “Marcus Reeves has thirty years of service.” She stood, her hands flat on the table as she leaned toward him. “He’s one of the most decorated agents in the Bureau. He’s been my advocate, my teacher, my friend.”
“Which makes him the perfect person to have access to your location, your schedule, your vulnerabilities.” Garrett kept his voice level. He flicked his gaze to Lynx. “I need to know if he has any financial problems or relationship issues. Anything that could make him vulnerable to compromise.”
Claire’s voice rose a notch. “You’re accusing my SAC of being the Countdown Killer?”
“I’m accusing no one. I’m investigating everyone.”
“These are my people, Wolf.” Her voice shook with barely controlled anger. “People I trust with my life.”
“And one of them might be trying to end it.” He stood, placed his own hands on the table, and met her eyes. “That spyware didn’t install itself. Someone had physical access to your phone. Someone close to you.”
“It could have been anyone—”
“No. It couldn’t.” Lynx pulled up the tech specs on the main screen. “This is military-grade surveillance software. It requires specialized knowledge to install. Hell, I almost didn’t find it.”
Garrett studied it for a long moment, then turned back to Claire. “Whoever installed this is law enforcement or intelligence. My guess is intelligence. Someone with training and access.”
Claire stared at the data. He could see her mind working. Her profiler’s brain was connecting dots she didn’t want to connect. “You think it’s someone at the Bureau,” she said with no emotion now.
She was slowly coming on board. He hated forcing her to face facts, but it had to be done. “I think it’s someone with access, knowledge, and opportunity. That fits a lot of people at the Bureau.”
Her voice was so quiet, it was nearly a whisper. “Including Reeves.”
“Including Reeves.”
She turned away, arms crossed. He could see her shoulders shaking. Not with fear. With fury.
“We need everything on him,” Garrett said to Vivi. “His work history. His associates. His communications with Claire. Travel logs. Everything.”
Claire whirled on him. “You want me to investigate my own SAC.”
“I want you to help me eliminate him as a suspect. If he’s clean, the investigation proves it. If he’s not—”
“He’s clean,” Claire snapped. “Marcus Reeves is a good man.”
He nodded. “Then proving it should be easy.”
“You don’t understand. These people are my family. My team. They’ve had my back for five years. They’ve kept me alive.”
Garrett couldn’t keep the frustration out of his voice. “Until someone in the group began stalking you. Or at the very least, gave your stalker a way to follow you no matter where you go.”
Claire flinched. “SAC Reeves is the one who sent me here. If he’s the Countdown Killer, why would he do that? You’re not being logical.”
Vivi stood. “Wolf is right, Agent Dawson.” At Claire’s fiery look, she cleared her throat. “Claire. And you’re right, too—it doesn’t make sense that Marcus would send you here if he were the killer. But we have to consider all possibilities.”
Claire looked at Vivi. Then at Garrett. Then down at her hands. Garrett watched the wheels in her head spinning. She was damn good at her job, but she was also too close to this. It was messing with her head.
“What do you need?” Her voice came out resigned.
He and Vivi exchanged a loaded look. They’d won this scrimmage, but not the war. Not yet.
Vivi sat again. “I’ll do the background checks, but we need you to tell us everything you can about your team. Your support staff. Anyone with access to your case files or your location. Especially their personalities and any odd quirks or insight into their psychological strengths and weaknesses.”
Claire nodded, sat back down, and after a moment, started talking.
Lynx took notes. Vivi ran searches in real-time. Garrett listened to the tone of Claire’s voice, mentally noting when she talked about anyone who made the timbre change or made her tense. She probably didn’t even realize she was doing it.
It took an hour. By the end, Claire looked exhausted, defeated.
But they had what they needed—a list of suspects. People to investigate. Leads to follow.
“One more thing,” Garrett said. “I’m instituting a new protocol. I’m moving into your room. Twenty-four-seven protection.”
Claire looked up. “Moving in?”
He nodded. “Until we neutralize the threat.”
“Can’t you guard me from the hallway like you’ve been doing? I can leave the door unlocked.”
“No.” He pulled up compound schematics. “Your room has a window and is part of the ventilation system that connects to the outside. If he breaches the perimeter, I need to be directly between him and you.”
Her voice rose again. “You think he could breach the perimeter? How? You’ve got layers and layers of security.”
“We do, and I trust it, but systems fail. We will not underestimate him.”
“We can put you in a closed environment with no windows,” Vivi said, “but it’s still connected to the ventilation system, and it’s rather…sparse.”
Claire studied the schematics. “Fine,” she said on a heavy sigh. She was an agent. She understood tactical reasoning. “But I need boundaries. At least a little personal space.”
Garrett had expected no less. “Understood. I’ll stay near the door. I won’t follow you into the bathroom, but you’ll have time limits on showers, and you can’t lock the bathroom door. You won’t even know I’m there.”
She looked at him—six feet two inches of armed SEAL—and something that might have been amusement flickered in her eyes. “Right. I definitely won’t notice you.”
Was that almost a smile?
He moved his gear into her room an hour later. Go-bag, weapons, tactical equipment, all ready. Then, he set up a position near the door—chair, sleeping bag on the floor.
“I’ll be here,” he said as much to himself as to her. “Between you and any threat.”
Claire slumped onto her bed, arms wrapped around herself. “This is surreal.”
“It’s also necessary.”
“I know.” She looked at him. “I’m sorry I fought you about Reeves. About the team. I know you’re doing your job.”
“No apology necessary. None of us wants to consider that our friends, family, or coworkers could be monsters.”
“Yeah. It hurts.” She pulled her knees up to her chest. “These people are my family. The idea that one of them could be—”
“I hope you’re right about them,” he said. “I hope they’re all clean. But I have to check. You understand that.”
“I do.” She was quiet for a moment. “For what it’s worth, thank you. For taking this seriously. For protecting me.”
“It’s what I do.”
“It’s more than that.” Her eyes met his. “You could have assigned this to Grizzly or Hawk. But you’re here. Why?”
Because I promised your best friend I’d take care of you. Because I failed once, and I won’t fail again. Because you’re CJ, and I can’t lose you, too.
“I’m the Commander. I lead by example, and your safety is on me,” he said.
The weight of those words hung in the air.
Claire nodded slowly. “I feel safer with you than anyone else.”
His chest squeezed. He gave a nod. “Good. That’s exactly what I’m here for.”
Garrett checked his watch. Two A.M. Neither of them was sleeping.
He sat in the chair, weapon in hand, blocking the door and keeping an eye on the window. He’d checked the lock three times and made sure the curtains were drawn tight.
Claire lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. “Wolf?” Her voice was quiet in the darkness.
“Yeah?”
“About earlier. When I asked about your sister.” She paused. “I’m sorry I pushed. That was out of line.”
His stomach tightened. “Don’t worry about it.”
“For what it’s worth, I understand that pain. Losing someone and wondering if you could have saved them. If you could have done something differently.”
“Yeah. I know you do.”
He felt her shift to look at him. “Do you ever stop wondering?” she asked.
“No, but you learn to live with it.”
“How?”
“You save the next person. And the next one. And the one after that.” His eyes met hers across the dim room. “Until maybe one day, the scales balance.”
Claire tugged the blanket closer around herself. “Do they ever? Balance?”
“I’ll let you know if I get there.” He saw her nod. “I know it’s hard to shut down your brain, but try to get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow, and I need you sharp.”
“What about you? When will you sleep?”
“I’ll sleep when you’re secure.”
She sank back down, turning toward the wall. “Thank you.”
The words settled into his chest. He leaned back in the chair and focused on her breathing as it smoothed out and grew deeper.
A few hours later, there was a knock on the door.
Garrett moved automatically, weapon out and positioning himself between the door and Claire. “Who is it?”
“Vivi,” came the reply.
He popped open the door. The doctor had been up all night. Her hair was pulled back, exhaustion in her eyes, but something else too.
Fear.
“I need to show you both something,” she said.
Claire was already out of bed and standing next to him. “What is it?”
Vivi entered. “I’ve been working on the Trident profile since we parted. Cross-referencing the Countdown Killer’s behavior patterns with historical case data.” She pulled up her analysis. “The way he targets survivors. The way he references their original trauma. The specific details he knows.”
“And?” Garrett asked.
“He knows too much.” Vivi’s voice was tight. “Details about the victim’s orginial attacks. Details about Lily Harper’s murder that weren’t in public case files.”
Claire went pale. “I’ve been over those case files and didn’t pick up anything like that.”
“Not about Lily. About you.” Vivi met Claire’s eyes. “About what happened between you that night. Outside of the facts you shared with law enforcement and your family that were never reported to the public, things only you and the killer would know.”
Garrett’s blood went cold.
“My interviews were all sealed,” Claire said. “None of it was made public.”
Vivi only nodded, staring at Claire, as if she could will her to understand.
And then Claire did. “You’re saying the Countdown Killer has access to sealed case files?” Claire asked. “My files.”
“Or he was there,” Garrett said. “He was a witness. That’s how he knew about the bracelet.”
Claire stumbled back several feet. “No, there was no one there. There were no witnesses besides me and Lily.”
“And the killer, Collin Brands,” Vivi added.
Claire was shaking. “But he’s dead.”
Vivi was quiet for a long moment. “I think the Countdown Killer didn’t just study Lily’s case.” She glanced between them. “I think he knew Brands. He may have even worked with him, learned from him.” She paused, focusing on Claire. “You were highly traumatized that night. You suffered from a concussion. He might have been there, Claire, and you just don’t remember.”
All the color drained from her face. “You’re saying the Countdown Killer was there the night Lily died?”
“I’m saying he knows things only someone there could know.” Vivi pulled up more data. “In one note, he mentions you slipped and fell. In another, that you lost your shoe when you ran.” Her eyes met Claire’s. “He was either there, or Brands shared those details with him before he died.”
Claire’s voice shook. “So the Countdown Killer has been watching me for fifteen years?”
Garrett forced himself to stay calm. “Why wait till now to target her, Doc?”
“Because something has triggered him. It might even be the fifteenth anniversary.”
Claire pinched her eyes shut. “Of course. The anniversary of Lily’s death is in three days.” She opened her eyes and locked on to Garrett’s. His stomach was a rolling ball of centipedes. He’d been marking off the days, but it hadn’t clicked for him either until right now. “That’s what all of this has been building up to, and I didn’t even see it. What kind of agent am I?”
He couldn’t stop himself. He reached out and squeezed her arm. “He’s been playing a game with you. It’s time for us to turn the tables on him.”
She moved closer, staring up into his eyes. “How?”
He forced a grim smile. “Thought you’d never ask.”
___
Don’t miss the next chapter!
Misty
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