Sitting inside the dark SUV, Nate and Zara wait for the rest of the team to join them. The steady fall of rain pelted against the windshield, the slight drizzle a steadfast staccato enveloping the tense silence inside the vehicle.

Nate had too many questions running inside his head. The first and foremost one being, who exactly was Briggs to Zara? The thought of him being her lover was too ridiculous to imagine, but he's seen stranger things in his field of work.

It didn't help that the man was only 20 years his senior.

The time and place to question her wasn't at this precise moment, even if his gut churned at the answer she would give him. Nate didn't know what he would do with the information she gave him if it turned out she was, indeed, Briggs' lover.

Would he kill the man? Take her from him? The one thing he was certain of was that he wouldn't leave her. She'd become too important to him.

"Nate."

His name came in a soft whisper. There was a small hesitance to it, almost as if in question. Disgust rolled through him, at the idea that Zara would feel that way when speaking to him. He didn't want her fear or uncertainty.

"What, sweetheart?"

"Are you okay? You've been quiet these last few minutes." A small hand reached out and touched his shoulder. So soft that he almost didn't feel it and wouldn't have if he wasn't so attune to her.

"Yeah," he reassured her. "It's just been a hell of a day." Reaching out, he grasped her hand, trailing his fingers across her palm.

"You sure?"

Bringing her fingers to his lips, he kissed each one before pressing a longer one on her palm. The sound of her breath hitching brought forth a small smile from him. Turning his head, Nate watched as different emotions warred with each other across her face. Confusion crinkled her forehead, as a mix of embarrassment and lust warmed her cheeks. It finally settled, as something close to warmth relaxed her features, her eyes dropping from his eyes to his mouth.

"I'm sure," he whispered against her palm, landing another kiss to it.

He could tell she wanted to say more, but the blaring of headlights flashed across the interior of the SUV, taking both of their attention away from each other. Gravel crunched beside them as a car and two SUVs parked on either side of them.

"Looks like the calvary is here."

Letting go of her hand, he opened his door as the other agents filed out of their respective vehicles. Zara rounded the sedan, coming to a stop right next to him.

"This better be good," Oliver claimed as he neared them. "I was just finishing up the report from our last victim. Think I've found a connection."

Ivan and Samuel followed close behind him as Killian, Zeke and Micah positioned themselves next to Nate's right. Briggs took up the rear.

"Really? And what would that be?" Brigg's voice rumbled out. "We've hit dead ends these last couple of months."

"Not anymore."

Everyone's eyes snapped towards Zara, making Nate tense up. He wasn't a fan of the attention she was receiving, only due to the attitude that Oliver has struck up since that first initial meeting. Seeing his eyes linger on her face, but more specifically her mouth, made a small ball of rage flare up inside of him.

"Yeah," he bit out. Redirecting Oliver's gaze from Zara to meet his. "We need to show you guys something. You won't be able to believe it."

"Then lead the way," Briggs motioned with a hand. "We're right behind you."

One by one they trailed after Nate and Zara, the rain taking over the heavy silence. The ground had become more slick since the past hour, causing the group of detectives to go at a slower speed than they wanted. But safety was at their highest priority, the commander had to remind them.

It took longer to reach the top of the hill where Nate and Zara were at, with how the torrent of rain continued to steadily fall down on them. The lighting wasn't helping as well, now that the sun has made its decent past the outline of the hills.

"I know it's a bit too dark to tell, but can you guys tell me what you see when you stare out there?" Nate pointed to the field below them. Almost all of his teammates stared in confusion at the ground below, not seeing what he and Zara were able to discover.

"Can't say I see much Sanders," Ivan huffed, dragging his fingers through rain soaked hair. "Are you guys sure you—"

One by one, Nate could see slowly how confusion turned to downright horror across the teams' faces. He focused his attention primarily to the commander's, watching as a play of emotions shifted behind those eyes.

"Well I be damned."

Oliver cursed next to him, the staccato of words dripping in raging fury as his musk of frustration filled the air.

"I can't believe we didn't see this. How the hell did we miss this?!"

"It didn't help that we have not had any aerial view since this case has started. As we all know, funds have been tight for the precinct and usually the only ones to use a chopper are for medical emergencies. There had been no need to airlift those bodies."

Nate nodded in agreement to Zara's reasoning. It was true—there had been no need to do so, considering those women have long been past dead. Not to mention, it usually took a while before all body parts were found and accounted for.

"So you're telling me that this sick bastard knew we had limited resources?"

"Yes," Nate replied. Briggs huffed in frustration, coming to the realization both Zara and himself had also came up with.

"That means he somehow has insight information about us. About the precinct. About our team. Basically, about our every single move." Zara wove frustrated fingers through her hair as she relayed such information.

"Fuck!"

One by one, the rest of the team started silently raging.

"This is bad," Ivan whispered through clenched teeth. "So fucking bad."

"No shit. It feels like we went back a hundred fucking steps back from where we were." Oliver paced back and forth, causing Nate to tense up.

As Oliver's steps got nearer to Zara, a slight growl slipped out of his throat. Oliver hiked a brow up, stopping a foot away from him.

"What's up with the aggression Sanders? Afraid I'll get your girl?"

"Shut it, Summers. Now's not the time to act like a dick," Killian called out from the back.

"Me? A dick? Fucker just growled at me!"

"Maybe," Samuel chipped in from beside Killian, "it's because your testosterone levels are through the roof and you're getting near an Omega. Sorry, Zara."

"None taken," Zara replied back. He could tell she didn't take his words discriminatorily.

A hot palm rested against his lower back, causing his shoulders to slightly drop. He didn't even know they had gone tense along with the rest of his body. "I'm okay," she whispered to him, moving her hand up and down along his spine.

"What I'm still wondering, is what he's wearing to mask his scent. That's what's been throwing this whole case off."

"Maybe some new drug?" Ivan murmured from the back. Nate wondered the same thing. "Something that hasn't hit the market then."

"Which makes no sense if they're looking to profit out of it."

Nate agreed with Killian. If such a drug existed, the price for it would be well worth it to be out to the public. There were still places that discriminated based on one's dynamic. It was bullshit, especially in this day and age, but it happened.

"Alright folks, lets snap those pictures and take this conversation to the precinct. Don't want other ears to hear the rest of what we're thinking." Briggs drawled out, before heading off back towards the trail. "We'll convene in an hour."

Nate snapped some pictures of his own, waiting for Zara to finish hers. Placing a hand on her back, he maneuvered her in front of him and indicated to Ivan to go before them. The rest of the teams silently made their way back to their respective cars, the air thick with tension.

He hoped that with this new information in hand, they'll be able to uncover more from the rest of the cases.