“I did. That’s why you wanted me on the call, right?” Ryder finished writing up his notes. “Michael, we can’t all do everything. That’s why we’re a team. We pick each other up.”
Michael nodded, but looked away. Ryder didn’t know what to say to help Michael. They were all struggling not knowing where Matt and Kara were, not knowing whether they were alive.
“Do you think you can find this Becca McCarthy?” Michael asked Ryder.
“Yes. Knowing that she went to Point Loma helps. They may be able to help me track her down, but I still have at least an hour before the administrative building opens.”
Michael stood. “I’m going to reinterview the female staff.”
He walked out and Ryder put his head down for a minute. He had lied to Michael; he hadn’t slept at all last night. And he couldn’t sleep now. He breathed deeply, recentered his emotions, then got up.
He had more threads to tug. He needed to start pulling until he found something—anything—that helped the team identify and apprehend Garrett Reid’s partner.
23
Kara’s eyes snapped open. Her heart was racing, every inch of her tired body sore and bruised. The air around her was thick, humid, cloying, and for a second she didn’t know where she was, almost couldn’t breathe. Panic flared, and she tried to sit up but found the effort almost impossible. A dull throb pulsed through her head and her limbs felt unnaturally heavy.
“Matt?” Her voice was rough, disoriented. She coughed, a dry, hacking sound. She could barely process the noises around her: the distant drip of water, the faint buzz of a faraway generator, and the overwhelming stillness.
“It’s okay.” Matt’s voice came from beside her, soft, steady. His arms tightened around her. “You’re okay.”
Kara blinked, tried to focus. Matt’s back was pressed into the corner of the concrete wall; she was spooned into him. Her head rested on his arm, which felt oddly comforting, but now that she was awake, she realized that Matt had to be uncomfortable. She herself felt like she’d been run over by a truck.
“I’m fine,” she said, trying to convince herself that this wasall normal, that they would get out of this situation, though she felt anything but fine. Her head was spinning, her muscles stiff. The realization hit her like a punch—they had slept. They had actually slept while trapped in some abandoned flooded warehouse in Georgia, a hundred miles or more from where they’d been abducted.
With a wince, she pushed herself up, vertigo threatening to pull her back down. Her limbs ached like she’d been stuck in one position for hours. Her mouth was dry, her empty stomach gnawing at her.
“We need to get out of here,” she said, her voice barely more than a hoarse rasp.
“We will.” Matt shifted, and she saw pain flash across his face.
“Your ankle—is it okay?”
“Fine.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It’s a dull throb,” he said. “Honestly, every one of my muscles feels bruised, and I had a dream—or nightmare—about a juicy cheeseburger just out of reach.”
She moaned, but smiled, just a bit.
He took a long look at her, his eyes dark but resolute. “You’re right, we can’t stay here much longer. Wewillget out.”
“And get a cheeseburger?”
“I promise.”
Kara forced herself to stand. Her legs were weak, as if they had forgotten what it was like to be used. She stretched, feeling the tension in her shoulders, the cramp in her stomach. “I can’t believe we slept,” she muttered, her gaze drifting across the room. The faint light that filtered through the grimy windows barely illuminated the factory floor below.
Matt glanced at his watch. “It’s 7:10 a.m.”
“Wow,” she said. “That long?” Time felt like it had completely lost all meaning. Maybe they hadn’t slept. Maybe they’d fallen unconscious again.
“The windows face west,” Matt explained, looking around. “So it’s still pretty dark out from our angle.”
Kara’s hands clenched at her sides. “This whole thing is driving me kind of crazy.” She glanced out at the catwalks. She’d figured it out last night—how to use the catwalks and beams to get down to the flooded floor below. But her mind was a mess, and she was trying to sort through all the possibilities to find the solution again.
“You’re fine,” Matt repeated. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him for a brief moment, his embrace grounding her. Kara felt the tension in her chest loosen. The reality of their situation was still there, but with Matt by her side she had confidence they’d get out of this.
