Page 24 of When Darkness Calls

“What?” He barks. In the background I can hear painful grunts and sharp cries.

“Did Keeg tell you we had a change of plans?”

“Yeah. What was it?” Cade’s interest and worry fill me with some kind of relief. Knowing that despite how cold he can be, he’s still there.

“Dani. It was Dani.”

He inhales sharply, voice turning to ice.

“Get here. Now.”

And I do.

When I pulled up to the warehouse, Keegan and Nick were dragging Jerry’s body into the back of Alex’s truck. They nodded at me as I walked past. Keegan grabs my shoulder.

“Is she okay?” He’s worried too.

“Yeah. She’s okay.”

He nods slightly, grabbing Jerry’s feet and lifting him into the truck bed.

Inside the open floor of the abandoned building, Cade is wiping spatters of blood off his computer monitors. He’s quiet. Which isn’t unusual, but the stiffened spine, and rigidity of his posture has me a little on edge as well.

“Dani?” Cade’s voice is hardened steel. Like ice has been poured into his veins.

“Yeah. She was who we heard screaming. I was walking the alley towards the noise, and she ran into—”

“Is she home?”

“I believe so, yes. I told her to run back into the crowd and call Liz. I called you after I checked the alley and…”

There’s a slight softening after I mention she is safe. A silent breath is released, and he deflates.

“What happened?”

“I saw him. Dee said he was wearing a ski mask, and I saw these two guys talking and one of them was wearing one. But they ran off back into the Fest and I lost them.” My tone is defeated. The incessant guilt crashing over me yet again. Why can’t I keep my promise? Why can’t I protect her?

“Who was it? Anyone on the list?” Cade nods to the stack of files at the desk sporting the monitors.

“I have no idea. Nothing about them was familiar, but I didn’t really get a good look either. We’ve not gotten any hits about something like this, have we?”

His brows furrow, he looks at the stack of files in thought, a bloodied hand raking through his golden hair.

“No. Nothing like that. No one in masks. As far as I know, we’re the only people on radar in masks,” he sighs. “I’ll check it out in the morning. See if there’s anything in surrounding towns or counties.”

I nodded in acknowledgment, looking at the remnants of the talk with Jerry. There’s a large pool of dark blood in the middle of the lit area of the warehouse. A chair sits beneath the swaying industrial light, chains piled on the floor before it.

Cade notices my stare. In a few strides he’s beside me, staring too.

“We didn’t get a lot. He was close. Damn close to spilling, but he didn’t get to say anything,” he sighs again, this time defeated. Like he’s lost all hope for our goal.

“Keegan said he had a heart attack. Don’t know if it was blood loss, or pain, or if he was just plain scared.”

“Goddamn it,” I mutter harshly.

“Yeah. Seems like every one step forward is a slippery slide back to square one. I don’t know why we’re even trying anymore, Grays.”

He walks off back toward the desk, slumping into his chair, head cradled in his hands.