I looked through the front window and saw a large dining table in the front room, with what appeared to be a piano nearby. The house was dark, with no signs of activity. No dust either. Nothing out of place. Like a model home waiting for someone to move in.
I moved to the side and checked the windows there; still nothing. They weren’t inside.
I came back to the porch and sank into a rocking chair, thumb hovering over the screen of my phone. I would sit here all day until she came home.
My phone rang.
I snatched it up. “Hello?”
“It’s Dad.” His voice was low; there was a steadiness to it that made my chest tighten. I let out a disappointed sigh, and then anger rolled through me at hearing his voice.
“Where is she?” I cut straight to it. My voice was calm by force, but I wanted to rip his fucking head off.
There was a long inhale. I could hear movements on his end, fabric rubbing. He was walking away from someone.
“She’s safe,” he said finally. “I can’t tell you anything else.”
“You’re not my operator, you’re my father,” I said. “Tell me where my wife is.”
“I told you, she’s safe.” He sounded tired, like he’d been up all night. “I can’t?—”
“Don’t lie to me.” The words came out sharper than I meant. Panic was a hard thing to hide. “If you know…”
“You don’t get to ask about this,” he snapped, then softened. “You failed.”
The word went straight through me, clean and cold.
“I know,” I interjected. “I know I failed to protect her. But you know how much I love her. I’ve loved her forever.”
He let out an exasperated sigh.
“I know you wouldn’t hurt her. But you took the pill, and now you’ve fucked everything up.”
“Fucked what up?” I snapped.
“You went in,” he said, like it was obvious. He let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re in the game now, son.”
An electric jolt ran through me.
“That secret society bullshit?”
“Max. You are aware of what is happening, right?”
I shivered. He was in on it.
“I know that camp is bugged. You can’t fucking tell me you missed everything,” I seethed, grabbing onto the only thing that felt solid. “You saw what happened. I know we’ve been watched.”
“Max…” he warned.
“You work with them, Dad. You’re CIA. You can help her, right?”
“That’s not how this works,” he hissed. “You agreed to it. You knew there were risks. You were briefed?—”
“I wasn’t briefed on anything,” I cut in. “I took a pill 24 hours ago in the woods and woke up to whatever fucking nightmare this is. Dad—what the fuck is happening?”
“Max…” he warned.
“You keep saying I ‘went in.’ In where? Into what?”
