Within the Shadows by J.D MCG (book recommendations .TXT) 📗

on the bathroom mirror. The humidity of the room. He's recently showered. I'd say he's been gone about ten to fifteen minutes. We need to get out there. I want every bus that's been in this area around that time, grounded.'

'What if he'd taken a taxi?' Ally threw her question out there.

'Good point, but he's trying to lay low. He knows his face is plastered everywhere and a taxi driver would notice him right away as it's up close and personal. A bus has more of a way to hide in plain sight,' Barnes explained.

The three of them joined the search along with their colleagues, traipsing throughout the busy Resorts World area. Sarah, Brian and Ethan arrived tackling all the grounded buses and their passengers, making sure Jack Roberts wasn't hiding among them. Each bus had been searched and each one had no sign of Jack on board.

'That was Sarah,' Barnes informed them while removing the phone from his ear. 'They've checked the last of the buses and he's not on board.'

'So that means he's gotta be close by,' said Jacob.

The three of them started to turn their heads, trying to get a better glimpse of the crowd that surrounded them. There were too many people and too much ground to cover. None of them knew what he was wearing or where he was hiding.

'I think we're going to need to split up,' Barnes insisted. 'The area's too big for us to cover as a group. If you find him, don't approach, just call and we'll meet as a team and take him. Do you both understand?'

Ally and Jacob nodded and they all split up. Barnes took the NEC, Ally took the surrounding grassland, while Jacob took the Resorts World building. Something stood out to Jacob about the building. If he was going to hide anywhere, it would be inside a small building full of people.

Shops, restaurants, another hotel, even a cinema. There were plenty of places for Jack to hide in there. As Jacob entered the building he could already see crowds gathered all over the place. He needed to reach higher ground if he was to get a good view of their suspect.

Jacob ran up the stairs, running out of breath as he neared the top. People were everywhere and he found it nearly impossible to spot his target, also having no clue of what he was wearing. The only thing Jacob could do was lookout for someone acting strange and erratic. Then he caught sight of him.

On the bottom floor was Jack Roberts, flicking his head side to side, making sure nobody was following him. Jacob flew down the stairs while dialling Barnes' number.

'Boss, I'm in pursuit,' he puffed as he jumped down the stairs. 'He's inside the complex, wearing blue jeans and a red t-shirt.'

'We're on our way.'

Jacob reached the bottom floor and tried to remain out of Jack's sight, but keeping a close watch on him. He watched as Jack started to move out of the open area and towards the toilets. Barnes and Ally burst through the entrance, and Jacob waved them over to him.

'He's just gone in the toilets,' Jacob informed them.

Barnes and Ally stood either side of the toilet door, while Jacob prepped himself to enter, unsure of the situation he'd find himself in. Ally began to alert the rest of the officers of Jack's whereabouts, in case the situation escalated. Jacob breathed deep breaths before entering the toilet.

Upon entry, he discovered the room to be empty. Jacob scouted around and looked underneath the cubicle doors to see any feet standing inside. One of the doors opened, revealing a man staring directly at him on the floor. The man gave a concerning glare before Jacob put his finger to his lip, signalling the man to be silent. He moved past Jacob, washed his hands and left. Silence entered the toilet once more. Jacob remained on the floor, even though he couldn't see any more feet, but he remained silent, hoping Jack would think he was safe.

A minute had passed since the toilet door had been closed, and Jack slowly placed his feet on the floor after standing on top of the toilet. The door slowly creaked open, and Jacob caught sight of a red t-shirt. Picking himself off the floor, Jacob quickly moved out of sight of Jack, wanting to take him down stealthily. Jack left the cubicle, unaware that Jacob was standing a few centimetres away from him.

'Jack Roberts. You're under arrest,' he announced his presence.

Jack hesitated before running for the exit, not realising Jacob wasn't here on his own. Barnes stuck his arm out from around the corner as Jack flew out of the toilet door, knocking him to the floor.

Barnes smiled at him on the floor. 'Don't bother getting up. Guessing you had trouble hearing my colleague in there. You're under arrest.'

Belle arrived at their apartment building. She grabbed the post from their lockup on the ground floor, before heading upstairs. Once she arrived inside the apartment, she flicked on the lights, placed the post of the kitchen counter and called out for Kate. But there was no answer. She knew Kate would still be upset, remembering she didn't want to talk to her, so she entered their bedroom.

It was dark and no sign of Kate. Where is she? Belle phoned Jacob, but it went straight to voicemail.

'Jacob. I need you to call me as soon as you can. It's urgent,' she left a message.

She tried phoning Kate, but it didn't even ring. She must have turned it off. Belle didn't know what to do. She was all alone in the apartment and had nobody to ask for help. Then a thought crossed her mind. She picked up her phone for the third time and gave Adam a call.

'Hi, Adam. Kate's