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Finn glanced up and saw his friend standing in front of him. Frightened brown eyes locked on the handcuffs and then bounced back to his face. “What the hell?”
“Kross.” Finn croaked. “He’s out there.”
“Crap. Let me—I mean…” Nolan wrapped his hands over his head and spun to the right and left in indecision. “What do I do?”
Finn sank to his knees, hopeless, hurting. “It’s too late. He’s probably gone by now.”
“What happened in here? How’d you meet Kross?”
“He was looking for something.”
Nolan’s eyes bugged. He wore a blue T-shirt over a pair of khaki shorts. A black duffel bag was slung over his shoulder. “What?”
Finn clenched his jaw and looked his friend straight in the eyes. “His baby.”
23
Something rang in the darkness. Jewel jumped and leaned over to stare at the nightstand where the phone that Carrie had given her was vibrating on the surface.
Fear squeezed her heart tight, but she sat up and grabbed the phone to inspect it anyway.
An unknown number blared on screen.
She shook her head and dropped the phone. Whoever it was, she didn’t need to be answering anything this late at night.
Jewel dropped back into bed and stared at the ceiling. She couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face when she thought of Joana’s parents. Mr. and Mrs. Gregory had been so warm and welcoming that she’d felt at home almost instantly.
The phone chirped.
Her eyebrows slanting, Jewel reached for it again and clicked on the light so she could read the screen.
A new message.
She opened it up, curious.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: Jewel, this is Finn. Pick up.
She gasped. “Finn?”
The phone lit up with another call from the same number.
Jewel scrambled to answer. “Hello?”
“Thank God.” Finn sighed heavily. “Where are you, Jewls? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m at Joana’s. What’s going on?”
He didn’t answer.
“Finn?”
“Nothing. Everything’s fine. I was just checking up on you.”
“At one in the morning?”
“It just hit me that your teddy bear at home won over me last night. I want a do-over. We’ll see who’s better at cuddling.”
Jewel laughed. “That’s why you called?”
