Page 151 of Missile Strike

Danny froze.

The voices faded.

He exhaled slowly and turned back to the lock. There was a subtle give in the cylinder, and the deadbolt slid back with a click.

Easing open the door, he and Trip slipped inside.

Talia’s space was neat. Sterile. The colors muted beige and white. It reminded him of Bella’s house, only without the humanizing touches of a dog or the romance books scattered in random spots.

There was definitely no pink bedroom with flowers and fairy lights and painted drawers.

Dammit. Moisture stung his eyes.

He left the dog in the kitchen and stepped into the main bedroom.

His jaw slackened. “No fucking way.”

Photos. Everywhere.

Walls. Nightstands. The dresser.

Bella’s face stared back at him from every angle—laughing, smiling, caught in moments that should have been private.

This wasn’t friendship.

It was obsession.

He kept his head down, avoiding Bella’s eyes as he went through Talia’s drawers, searching for anything that might clue him into where she’d taken Bella.

His attention settled on the corkboard resting in a corner on the floor. Pushpins held several newspaper clippings in place.

He placed it on the bed. Scanned the articles.

They were the same ones Olivia Flores received in the mail. The ones postmarked from Los Angeles.

“California State Assembly Candidate’s Daughter Missing After Apparent Abduction.”

“Anonymous Note Raises Fears for Missing 12-Year-Old Girl.”

“Isabella Strickland Rescued Alive After Three Days in Storage Unit. Suspect Arrested.”

According to Bella, Talia traveled frequently to California for work.

He moved into the second bedroom, more of a home office with a desk and a couch. The wall above the desk had two hangers nailed into it, spaced about sixteen inches apart.

For the corkboard she’d taken down?

He searched the drawers. No laptop, no tablet. No electronics at all.

Nothing that gave him a clue about where Bella might be.

A bed pillow, a folded bedsheet, and blanket sat neatly on the couch.

Danny frowned. Other than Bella, Talia seemed to have few friends. Who would she have invited to stay over?

He lifted the pillow. Held it to his nose.

Cologne.