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The chirr of the crickets crescendos as I stare up at the star-painted sky through the canopy of treetops. So heavenly. So transcendent. So far removed from this moment.
1
Present Day: 45 Minutes After Avery’s Abduction
Sadie
Red.
The color of the breaking morning sky through my windshield.
Fire red. Angry red. Love red… It can be perceived so many ways, with so many conflicting emotions.
The sun’s fiery rays kiss the clouds, emblazoning the stretch of cool black with a sweet caress of warmth red.
Or
The rising sun slashes the sky with violent streaks, consuming the peaceful night with blistering fire red.
It’s deceptive, this bold color. Amorous and full of fervor, it paints the still dawn in shades that denote tranquility.
But the fire surging up within me is anything but tranquil.
It rages. Like a bolt of lightning striking on the horizon, my vision is rimmed with a pulsing red as the sky deepens in intensity. Her face is there—etched in pain and horror—against my eyelids every time I blink away the rising sun.
Avery.
The tires rumble against the asphalt as I push down on the pedal, gaining speed over the highway. The sound of flipping pages makes my jaw clench, and I grip the steering wheel tighter. To my right, Colton is searching each member file of The Lair.
It’s unlikely that the UNSUB is in those files. It’s possible that he found access into the top levels of the club another way. Paying off a bouncer. Stealing an identity. Simply sneaking past all detection.
But I have to trust Quinn’s method here: follow each lead until we reach the end. We have to analyze every member—only I’m so terrified we’re already out of time.
Avery.
Applying more pressure to the accelerator, I weave my Honda in and out of traffic, zipping past honking cars as they pull off to the side.
Somehow, I made her a target. Her proximity to me at work couldn’t be the only reason the UNSUB chose to abduct her. There’s more, another purpose. There has to be.
Her last message to me feels as if it’s burning a hole in my jacket pocket. The need to pull the note out and read it again consumes me. I’ve already studied it, trying to discern some meaning, some code…
Colton’s touch draws me out of my frenzied thoughts, and I expel a shaky breath.
“You’ll find her,” he says, his hand giving my thigh a comforting squeeze. “Ease off the gas, Sadie. You can’t help anyone if we wreck.”
Nodding, I lick my lips and slowly lift my foot. “Did you find anything…anyone?”
“Two potentials so far.” Colton releases me and resumes his search. “I’m starting with location first. Anyone who has lived in the downstate area over the past three years, and who’s recently moved here. Although you said the UNSUB would be aware of law enforcement methods. So if he’s in here, I doubt he gave us truthful information.”
Right. Exactly. The profile states a lot of things that are in direct conflict with our current course of action. We have to go against logic here, because the UNSUB is aware of the profile, too. He’s known every move within the department before we’ve made it. And he’s predicting our next.
“By abducting Avery, he’s counting on me making a mistake,” I say. “I’m too close. He knows I’ve made a connection, and he’s trying to rattle me. Trying to force me into making a mistake.”
“Then don’t.” Colton closes a file and turns toward me.
His gaze penetrates my defenses, and just for a moment, I feel the burn of tears behind my eyes. In this car’s intimate confines, I don’t have to pretend. I don’t have to be brave or distant, shutting out an unsure, threatening world.
I’ve kept myself locked in that basement, afraid. Alone. Unwilling to trust. If I ever lowered my walls, I’d only find myself right back there. But it was always a threat against me—my fear. I never once thought someone else would take my place.
