Page 149 of Jay Bird

Derek’s expression didn't change. “First we get Willow and Lily.”

Jay Bird knew exactly what Derek was telling him. The mission had to come first, and everything else—including his rage, his fear, and his need to get to Chen would have to wait until Willow and Lily were safe.

“Okay.”

Riley’s voice suddenly came from behind them. “Ellie!”

When Jay Bird turned, Riley was staring at the frozen security footage.

“What?” he asked.

“Ellie.” She pointed at the stuffed elephant still clutched in Lily’s arms. “We put an AirTag in it.”

Jay Bird stared at her.

Riley was already moving toward the officer who had Willow’s belongings.

“After Willow got here, I told her what helped us when Chen had me. Trackers. I gave her several and told her to hide them in things that people wouldn’t think twice about.” Riley looked at Jay Bird. “We put one inside Ellie.”

Hope punched through him so quickly it almost hurt.

“Willow’s phone,” Riley said. “Where is it?”

One of the officers looked toward another. “We recovered a phone near the sidewalk.”

“Get it.”

The officer hurried toward one of the cruisers.

Tink pulled into the parking lot less than a minute later, climbed out, and headed straight toward Derek.

“What do we have?”

Derek pointed toward Riley. “Possible tracker.”

That was all Tink needed.

By the time the officer returned with Willow’s phone, Riley was explaining what they needed. Willow’s screen was cracked from hitting the pavement, but the phone still worked.

They pulled up the tracking information.

Jay Bird stood so close he could barely breathe.

The map loaded, and a small dot appeared on the screen. Nobody spoke as Riley zoomed in, narrowing the location down to Norfolk at the Port.

“It’s stationary,” Tink said.

Tink was already pulling out his phone. “Then we have a location.”

“Or they found the tracker,” Nails said.

Jay Bird’s stomach tightened.

Tink shook his head. “Possible, but don’t assume that until we have reason to. If they had found it, odds are they would’ve destroyed it or dumped it somewhere less useful. Right now we treat that location as live.”

Derek turned toward the teams. Everything about him changed. He wasn’t just their friend standing in a parking lot anymore; he was their commander.

“Listen up. Nobody goes cowboy on this. We coordinate with law enforcement, confirm what we’re walking into, and move fast. I’ve already cleared this with the higher-ups. Alpha and Bravo are both on this.”