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“Hey. Kairi?”
A voice emanates from the phone. “Hi, Knox. Give us a sec. Ryan is joining.”
The water in both glasses vibrates in my trembling hands. It looks like what I imagine water looks like during an earthquake. Knox’s eyebrows come together as he zeroes in on the glass.
“How’s the place?” It’s a woman’s voice asking. Possibly the same woman, possibly different.
“It works. What’ve we learned?”
Seated in a chair at the table, I rub my forehead. A dull pain aches. My brain can’t process this. I slide the glass of water farther away from me. I’m not sure I can swallow.
Click.
“Hey, team. SBPD are still on the scene. They found tracks from the trail base. Looks like they followed you to the base, then took an alternate trail up.”
“Any shell casings?”
“No. Looks like they cleaned up after themselves, but like I said, they’re still on the scene. When you guys struck out on the trail, do you remember any nearby vehicles?”
Knox’s eyes flash to mine. “Two parked vehicles when we arrived. One open top Jeep. One small four door sedan. Both empty. No one pulled up after us.”
“Well, they did, but you didn’t see them. And someone broke into your place.”
“Can you tell when?” If Knox is surprised, his face doesn’t register it.
“After Stella packed your bags.”
So that means after the incident on the trail.
“How’d you determine timing?” Knox asks.
“I went back to your place to get Millie’s dog stuff. Someone ransacked your place. Place was fine when Stella stopped by.”
“Probably because they were still getting off the canyon.” Knox says.
I close my eyes, giving thanks to the universe that an innocent party didn’t cross paths with these gun-toting psychos. What would’ve happened if they encountered Stella?
“I need to go public,” I say. Knox turns his stern gaze on me. I don’t know who’s speaking on this phone. They don’t know me. “This is Sage. I’ve been thinking about it, and it’s the only way this ends. I don’t have any information. Or if I did, they destroyed it. The only reason for them to come after me is to keep me from making Sloane’s disappearance a major news story. Once the story’s out there, there’s no reason to come after me.”
“That’s one theory,” a masculine voice says.
“Let me run it by Interpol.” I think that’s Ryan’s voice. “It’s conceivable they can help us get the missing persons word out on a global scale since there’s already a yellow notice on her. It’ll be far more effective than going to local media here in the States.”
They all talk more, going back and forth in a calm, direct manner. As if this is all normal. Something people go through every day. As if now that I’m in a bulletproof compound that from the outside looks like a small Airbnb beach cottage, there’s no rush or urgency. It’s a business matter. No reason to freak out. Or get worked up. No reason to have a heart attack.
“Hey, are you okay?” Knox asks after disconnecting the call.
“I’m fine.”
Warmth envelopes my shoulder. The nape of my neck. I’m lifted from the chair. “You’re safe. There’s no reason to worry.”
I jerk in his arms. “Are you out of your mind? You almost got shot. Millie did get shot! I can’t just sit here. I need to do something.”
His lips brush my temple. We sink into the sofa. “You’re freezing.”
He toes off his hiking boots. Bends and lifts my feet.
“What’re you doing?”
