Crown of Sins - Chaelisa

-Chapter Thirty Five-

*Lisa's POV*

I stare at my phone. I can't stop staring at it.

Seconds tick by, and then I think it's been minutes. My eyes blink. At least I can do that.mMy breath continues to flow in and out, even though I'm struggling a little on remembering how to make it do that.

But still-I stare at the receiver of my phone. I keep staring at the spot where Rosie's voice just came from. All the horrible things she said. All of it tied up in mystery and hints I'll never understand.

Every once in a while, my eyes flick to my computer where the curser still blinks over the print button. But mostly I stare at my phone, hearing the dead line buzz gently.

I don't know how long I sit here like this, frozen. So fucking shocked. In a deep state of utter what-the-fuck. And I don't have any idea what snaps me out of it, but suddenly my brain starts working again. My eyes move quicker than my fingers, but I manage to call our night-shift analyst. Somehow.

And, once I've started, everything moves quicker, easier. I'm doing something that makes sense, finally.

"Smith," I bark as soon as the line connects, not giving Allison one moment to try and say hello, or anything else.

"What can I do for you, Manoban?" she asks, not perturbed by me at all. She's one of the only people on my team who can take my asshole attitude with a smile, no matter what. If I was a betting man, I'd guess that she has a brother a lot like me. And he's probably a favorite brother too.

"Can you triangulate my cell phone?" I ask her, already knowing the answer.

"You know I can," she chirps like it isn't the middle of the night. "But why would I need to do that if it's your own phone?"

"Don't ask," I say with a cringe.

"You know I'm too nosey for that," Allison says. And I can hear her smile widening.

"Let's just say that it's somewhere that I need to be," I try to appease her.

"That'll do for now. But only if you promise to tell me the rest over breakfast-when you bring me a donut and bacon on your way back from wherever you're about to go charging into," she offers.

"Deal," I say. "Text my personal cell when you've got it. Since you know..."

"Since your ass is in hot water and someone else has your work phone," Allison finishes for me.

I nod, not trusting myself not to snap at her with an answer. Then she manages to hang up before I can, though I hear her already starting to type before she clicks off. I need to remember to bring her more than breakfast if everything works out the way I hope it does. She's a fucking angel.

Needing to do one more thing before jumping into action, though, I dial the number I know by heart-luckily-and hold my breath until he answers. It takes so long I'm not sure that he's going to wake the hell up. But then he does.

"Do you ever sleep?" Shawn asks me through a yawn that makes his words almost indecipherable. His jaw cracks, and there's a weird sort of snort from him after that.

"No," I blurt out. "And you're not going to tonight either. Get dressed."

I can hear Shawn sitting up and shuffling around. But it's too slow, and this is so much more important that his feelings. So I do what I'm best at. "NOW," I shout."

"Fucking hell, Manoban," Shawn sighs out. "What has your boxers in a bunch?"

"I'll text you when I have an address. Call the rest of the team. All of them. And hurry the fuck up," I say. Then I'm standing, slamming the receiver down, and rushing out of the building toward my car.