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“I agree,” I called out.
“I’m sorry, Peyton,” Camden said. “Our families are no strangers to this kind of shit.”
If he only knew.
“Hang on, you two. Let me get Brooklyn. She’s upstairs.”
A few minutes later, Brooklyn’s voice came over the phone. “Hey, guys. Cam just gave me a quick rundown. What’s going on with these texts?”
Ethan sat down on the bed to get closer to me. “I’m going to let Peyton explain.”
“Hey, Brooklyn,” I said.
“Hey, sweetheart. I know you’ve got to be a little unnerved right now.”
“Just a little,” I confessed. “The texts have been bizarre. The first one I got was three weeks ago on a Tuesday. And then I got another one last Tuesday and another tonight. I don’t know why they’re coming in on Tuesdays.”
Brooklyn grunted. “Interesting. What did they say?”
“Just random shit. Like this last one said, ‘you need to be ready for me.’”
Brooklyn huffed in disgust. “Sick bastards. Okay, I’ve got some guys I can contact to see if they can trace where the texts are coming from. It might take a few days for them to get on it. Until then, stay vigilant. I know you two are incognito right now.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “We haven’t left the house, and our grocery orders are under a different name. As far as I can tell, no one knows we’re here. I haven’t seen anyone showing up in the driveway to take pictures.”
Brooklyn sighed. “Good. If things change, give me a call.”
We said our goodbyes, and that dreaded feeling in my stomach came back. I didn’t like waiting. So much could happen.
CHAPTER19
ETHAN
THE NEXT TUESDAY
It took a few days, but Brooklyn finally got in touch with her people, and they’d been trying to figure out the text situation for the last two days. Again, it was Tuesday, a week since Peyton’s last text. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t give a shit about a stupid text, but this was different; it felt different. There was something in the messages, something menacing. We’d be idiots to brush them off.
It was getting late and for the past hour, Peyton had been sitting on the couch, staring out the window as the sun faded. Once it grew dark, you could only see the light from the boat dock and the houses across the waterway. We had one more week left in Wilmington, but the allure of it had worn off. In the beginning, it was fantastic having the freedom and enjoying the alone time. Now, all I could think about was keeping Peyton safe, wondering if there would be someone lurking around the corner to take her away from me. Before, I had nothing to lose, but that wasn’t the case anymore.
I hadeverythingto lose.
Peyton’s phone was on the coffee table, and there were times I caught her staring at it. There was fear in her eyes, and it infuriated me. I didn’t want her to be afraid.
My phone started ringing, and she gasped, jerking her head in my direction. Grabbing my phone off the kitchen table, I swiped my finger across the screen: it was Brooklyn.
“Hey,” I said, putting the call on speaker. I walked over to the couch and sat next to Peyton. “What’s going on?”
Brooklyn huffed. “Nothing good. I know that’s not what you want to hear.”
Peyton stared at me; her expression full of disappointment.
“What do you mean, nothing good?” I asked.
“It’s crazy, Ethan. My people should be able to trace where those texts came from. But instead, they weren’t able to find anything. It’s like someone already went in there and erased all the information.”
“Who has the ability to do that?”
The line went silent for a few seconds, and my gut contorted. It had to be someone with a lot of power. Not just anyone could do what Brooklyn and the FBI could do.
