Page 91 of Savage Surrender

“Mase. It’s me.”

The keyboard stops. “Bianca?”

I catch myself smiling. Owen’s knife stops halfway through the tape on a camera box. “How’s Jess? Did the twins start walking yet?”

“Jess is good. Both twins are walking now, usually in opposite directions. We get a lot of exercise these days.”

“Tell her I said hi.”

“I will. You all right?” His voice loses the last of its surprise.

“I’m fine.”

The keys begin again. “What can I do for you?”

Owen lowers two camera boxes to the floor, slices through the seals with a knife, and begins laying batteries and memory cards across the pale wood in clean rows.

Freddie steps closer. “This is Freddie. Are my brothers still at school?”

Mason’s answer comes without a pause. “Michael and Rex were both physically confirmed this morning. They’re still on campus, and neither one appears to be under watch.”

“Do they know about our mom?”

“Not that I can say. Their old numbers were disconnected, and I haven’t risked direct contact.”

“Don’t. Keep eyes on them, and if either one leaves campus, I want to know.”

“Already in place.”

I draw the receipt closer and turn it over. “Tell me what your investigator can actually see. Her first.”

Mason’s chair creaks through the speaker. A muted chime sounds on his end, and photographs of Colleen begin appearing on the burner. “She was upright and putting weight on both feet. No restraints visible. I can’t clear her for injuries or drugs from this angle. The investigator has the rear of the property, most of the courtyard, the garage exit, and two upstairs windows.”

I enlarge the photographs and angle the screen away from the glare. In the second frame, Colleen’s fingertips touch the curtain. In the third, her face turns sharply toward something behind her. The last one is blurred.

“Is he there with her?” Freddie asks.

“He returned twenty-three minutes ago. One security contractor went in with him. Nobody has come back out.”

“Is Ezra clued in?” We might need backup.

“Yes. He’s sending me updates when he can.” Mason’s typing slows. “Last I heard, they were moving everyone out and splitting between new locations. Montgomery had people on the ground and drones overhead. No one approached, but too risky.”

The pencil slips against the receipt and tears through the paper. “Is everyone okay?”

“All clear at the last check. No issues. Marc and Anna have a large group at an old ranger station a few hours away. The rest joined a larger community in Kentucky.”

I imagine everyone leaving their lives behind in a hurry. Ellie’s garden - abandoned. Because of me.

“Ezra and Megan are working on a route to you that doesn’t bring a trail behind them,” Mason adds.

“They’re coming here?”

“I don’t have an ETA yet, but yes.”

Ezra and Megan. Here.

Colleen’s fingers press against the curtain on the screen.