Devil's Whisper Chapter 116: Following the Trail

The next morning, Kate stood poised to step inside the towering glass building of Global News Network, the early sun glinting off its sleek facade and casting fractured light across the pavement. Her heels clicked softly against the concrete, her bag slung over her shoulder, when Jason suddenly emerged from the right, his figure cutting through the bustle of the street.

He moved swiftly, purposefully, blocking her path with a grace that belied his urgency. His expression was intense—eyes dark and blazing, jaw set with a quiet fire—and the sight of him sent a flutter through her chest, a mix of surprise and something warmer, softer, that she couldn’t quite name.

She immediately knew something was up, but beneath that certainty, a spark flared at how he looked at her, like she was the only thing anchoring him in that moment.

“We need to go somewhere,” Jason stated firmly, his voice low and resonant. The timbre of it brushed against her senses, stirring the memory of his dominance the night before, the way he’d held her in the dark house, his breath hot against her ear.

Kate frowned, shifting her bag higher onto her shoulder, the leather strap biting into her skin as she tried to steady herself against the pull of his gaze. “Where?”

“First, get in my car. Then I’ll tell you,” Jason replied, stepped closer, closing the small distance between them, and the air thickened with his presence. His eyes held hers, unwavering, and for a moment, the world narrowed to the space where their breaths almost touched, a magnetic pull she couldn’t ignore.

“I have a meeting with Rodrick. He’s waiting for me,” she reminded him, her voice softening as she tested his resolve, though her gaze lingered on his mouth, remembering how close it had been to hers in the car’s dim light. She shifted her weight, her hip brushing the edge of her bag, and the casual motion felt charged, deliberate, as if daring him to convince her.

“Rodrick can wait,” Jason countered without hesitation, he reached out, his fingers brushing her elbow in a fleeting, electric touch—barely there, yet enough to ignite a flush across her skin. “Where I’m taking you is far more important than your meeting.”

Kate studied his face, her breath catching as she noted the determination etched into his features. Jason wasn’t one to exaggerate, and if he was this insistent, it meant he had something big—something that couldn’t wait.

But more than that, it was the way he looked at her, like she was his partner in more than just the hunt, that tipped the scales. Her heart thudded, a wild rhythm that echoed the thrill of his nearness, and she felt herself drawn to him, a pull she couldn’t resist even if she wanted to. The memory of his hand on her in the house, his chest against hers, his voice a velvet command, flooded back, and her resolve wavered, melting into something softer, warmer.

“Okay,” she relented, her voice a quiet surrender as she stepped closer, the space between them shrinking until she could feel the heat radiating from him. “But at least let me run inside and tell Rodrick I have to leave,”

“You can do that over the phone,” Jason said flatly. He wasn’t budging. “You don’t understand,” he continued, lowering his voice slightly. “Where I’m taking you... it could be a breakthrough in our case.”

A breakthrough.

Kate inhaled sharply, her journalist instincts kicking in. If Jason was right—and she had no reason to believe otherwise—then whatever he had discovered was worth more than any meeting.

“Okay… let’s go,” she said, nodding.

Without wasting another second, she turned toward Jason’s car, which was parked right in front of the building. It was his usual sleek black sedan, always spotless, always ready to go at a moment’s notice. Jason clicked the unlock button on his key fob, and the car beeped twice. He slipped into the driver’s seat while Kate settled into the passenger side.

As Jason started the engine, the car rumbled to life with a low, throaty purr that vibrated through the seats, sending a subtle thrill up Kate’s spine. She settled into the passenger side, the leather cool against her thighs, and quickly pulled her phone from her bag, her fingers brushing the worn strap as she fished it out. The faint scent of Jason’s cologne mingled with the crisp morning air seeping through the cracked window, wrapping around her senses as she typed out a message to Rodrick:

“I’m going with Jason. I’ll meet you in two hours.”

She slipped the phone back into her bag and looked up at Jason, her breath catching as she caught the way the sunlight slanted across his face, highlighting the sharp line of his jaw and the intensity in his eyes.

“Alright, now tell me—where exactly are we going?” she asked, her voice soft but laced with a teasing edge, a playful challenge that danced between them.

Jason gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles whitening briefly as he steadied himself, his eyes fixed ahead on the road stretching out before them. But she saw the way his jaw flexed, the faint flush creeping up his neck, and knew he felt her nearness too.

“Last night, you concluded that Lowan Box and Darrel Luke were two fake identities created by the same person.”

Kate nodded, her lips parting slightly as she leaned closer, drawn by the heat in his gaze. “Yeah, I did.”

“And after that, I asked you about Juan Luu—the guy who left those cryptic comments on Sasha Paula’s posts, telling her to stop condemning Satanism,” Jason continued, his tone steady but laced with a quiet intensity that mirrored the way he’d looked at her last night—focused, unguarded, like she was the only thing that mattered.

“Yes,” she said, her voice a soft murmur, “and I suggested that Juan Luu could be yet another fake identity, meaning that whoever was behind these names had not just two, but possibly three different personas.”

She reached out instinctively, her hand hovering near his arm before settling on the edge of her seat, fingers curling into the leather as she fought the urge to touch him. The car felt smaller now, the space between them charged with a current she couldn’t ignore—his presence a steady flame, drawing her closer with every breath.

Jason’s gaze flicked to her again, longer this time, and the corner of his mouth twitched into a faint, almost shy smile—a rare crack in his usual stoicism that made her heart skip.

“You were brilliant last night,” he said, his voice dropping to a husky whisper, meant just for her, and the compliment landed like a caress, warming her from the inside out. His eyes held hers, dark and deep. “I couldn’t stop thinking about how you put it all together,” he added, his tone laced with admiration, and the way he said it—raw, unguarded—sent a flush across her cheeks, her lips parting in a quiet gasp.

Kate’s breath hitched, her fingers tightening on the seat as she fought the urge to close the distance, to let her hand find his, to feel the warmth of his skin beneath her touch. “Thank you, and I suggested that Juan Luu could be yet another fake identity, meaning that whoever was behind these names had not just two, but possibly three different personas.”

“Exactly,” Jason glanced at her briefly, his dark eyes catching hers in the soft glow of the dashboard lights before returning to the road ahead. The fleeting look sent a ripple of warmth through her, a quiet promise in the way his gaze lingered just a moment too long. “I did some digging last night,” he said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial murmur that sent a shiver down her spine. “It took some effort, but I found Juan Luu.”

Kate’s eyes widened, her breath catching as she turned fully in her seat to face him, the motion bringing her knee perilously close to his thigh. “You what?” she asked, her voice a breathless mix of disbelief and excitement, her pulse racing as she searched his face.

The morning light streaming through the windshield caught the faint stubble on his jaw, and she couldn’t help but imagine the feel of it against her fingertips, rough and real.

Jason nodded, the corner of his mouth lifting into a half-smile that was equal parts triumph and tenderness, meant just for her. “Yeah,” he said, his tone softening as he stole another glance at her, his eyes locking with hers for a heartbeat that stretched into eternity. “I know exactly who he is… and right now, we’re heading straight to his house to have a little chat.”

Kate exhaled, her pulse quickening as the implications sank in, a wild rhythm thudding in her ears. This was big—bigger than she’d dared hope. If Jason had actually tracked down Juan Luu, it meant they were closer than ever to unmasking the real identity behind the murders, the disguises, the eerie connection to the Rubaiyat that had haunted her since the stranger’s warning.

For the first time in this investigation, they were one step ahead, and the thrill of it coursed through her, mingling with the warmth of his presence beside her. She reached out instinctively, her hand hovering near his arm before settling on the edge of her seat, fingers curling into the leather as she fought the urge to close the distance between them.

“You did a great job,” she said, her voice soft but fervent, her eyes shining with a mix of pride and something deeper. A lightness lifting her chest as she gazed at him. “Where does Juan Luu live?” she asked, her tone eager, leaning closer until she could feel the heat radiating from him.

“He lives near Henley Beach,” Jason said, his voice steady. He glanced at her again, and this time his gaze lingered, dark and searching, as if he were memorizing the way she looked at him—flushed, alive, utterly his in that moment.

Kate’s breath hitched, her mind racing as she connected the dots. “Juan Luu lives in the same area where Sasha Paula used to live?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… tell me more about Juan Luu.”

Jason’s grip on the wheel tightened, his knuckles whitening as he steadied himself against the pull of her nearness. “It appears that Juan Luu was once a member of the Pathway of Ascendants,” he explained, his voice low and deliberate, each word a brushstroke painting the killer’s shadow. “Three years ago, he posted a photo of himself wearing a T-shirt with the cult’s logo on it. From his Facebook page, I also found out that he was an engineer and worked at a firm. But two years ago, he left his job and posted about his resignation on Facebook. Some of his friends even asked why he was quitting such a good job, but Juan didn’t reply to anyone.” He paused, his eyes flicking to her, and the intensity in them made her heart skip. “And then, for two years, he went into some kind of hibernation. He didn’t make any new posts on social media or comment on anyone else’s posts. Then suddenly, after two years, he commented on Sasha Paula’s post, forbidding her from condemning Satanism so openly. Despite Juan’s warning, Sasha didn’t pay any attention and continued posting material against Satanism.”

“Why did Juan ask Sasha not to post against Satanism?” Kate asked, her tone soft but insistent, her body leaning toward him as if drawn by an invisible thread, her hand resting lightly on the console now, inches from his.

Jason’s breath hitched slightly, his eyes darting to her hand before returning to the road. “Juan’s sentiments must have been hurt by reading Sasha’s posts,” he said, his voice dropping to a husky murmur that sent a shiver through her. “That’s why he asked her to stop posting such material.”

“Did you find anything about Lowan Box and Darrel Luke?” Kate asked, her voice trembling slightly with the thrill of the hunt—and the thrill of him, so near she could feel the warmth radiating from his frame.

“No, Clark was telling the truth,” Jason replied, his tone steady but laced with a quiet frustration. “There is no Lowan Box registered in the national identity card system. I also checked Darrel Luke’s name, and there’s no such name registered either.”

“And what about Juan Luu?”