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And now it was ringing.
Snatching it to his ear, he barked, “Hello?”
Silence.
“Bethany, is that you?”
Faint breathing reached his ear.
“Bethany,” he tried again, “this is your fa—”
Click.
He looked at the number.
It was different from the phone near the shelter.
Immediately, he called Joseph. The man answered on the second ring. “I’m assuming this is important,” he stated without ire, sounding wide awake.
“I think Bethany just called. I have Georgia’s phone. When I answered, the person on the other line didn’t say anything, but I could hear breathing. I need this number traced and you’re the one that can get it done yesterday.” Mason rattled off the number.
“I’ll call you back as soon as I know something.”
Mason hung up the phone only to realize he had a call coming in.
Lacey.
Fear shot through him. Something was wrong if she was calling at this hour of the night. He answered. “Lacey, what’s wrong?”
“You’re right,” she whispered through the line. “I’ve made someone really mad. Come quickly.”
At her trembling almost inaudible words, Mason felt his heart thump wildly in his chest. “I’m on my way over.”
Less than five minutes later, he was in his car and speeding across the three-mile distance to her house.
When he pulled into her driveway, he noticed every light in the house blazed.
* * *
Lacey heard the car drive up.
Mason. He’d beaten the police.
She flew from the house, leaving her parents still shaken and clutching one another as they whispered prayers for their granddaughter’s safety.
Lacey launched herself into Mason’s arms not caring about the past, what he thought of her—or what anyone else would think if they saw her actions.
She needed him.
“What is it, Lacey?” His lips touched the top of her head, ruffling her hair with his warm breath. “What happened?”
She couldn’t seem to stop the trembling. “Oh, Mason, I think she’s dead.”
Lacey heard herself wail the words but felt like they came from someone else.
Strong fingers gripped her forearms, and she felt him push her away so he could look down at her. Intense blue eyes bored into hers. “Why do you say that?”
“You have to see,” she whispered. “In her room.”
