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He sent the text to Miles.
Might have a problem. Trace recent call to Isabel’s. Now.
He waited to make sure Miles saw it.
The response was almost immediate.
On it.
A low breath came through the phone line, the kind somebody would take if they were trying to calm themselves down.
Isabel had a wary look on her face. He angled his chin to the kid near them, then jerked his head toward Aaron. He’d spotted the teenager the second he came into Travis’s line of sight, although he’d already heard the floorboards creaking, suspected one of the older kids had heard Brooklyn.
Isabel scowled at him, but she took the girl’s hand, urging her away.
“I’m trying to find a friend of mine,” the caller said. His voice was slightly slurred, but beyond that ... flat. Devoid of emotion and with no trace of an accent. Hard to guess an age, too, because he spoke so quietly.
“Yeah? Did you try the contacts in your cell phone?” The hairs on the back of Travis’s neck were standing on end.
His phone vibrated and he looked down.
Working on it. Whoever it is, they don’t want us to know where they are.
The subtle clang of warning in his head went to full-out alarm. Hearing Isabel’s footsteps behind him, he looked over, saw her approaching.
Turning, he put his cell on the table behind him and held out his hand.
Her face was solemn, eyes unreadable as she twined their fingers and moved closer. He tucked her close as the caller said, “That’s just the thing ... I haven’t been able to track her down. Been ... out of touch for a few years and I’m hoping to reconnect with her. Say, by any chance, would your name beTravis?”
Going with his gut, he said, “I take it I’m talking to Stephen.”
Isabel went rigid next to him.
“I’ll be a son of a bitch ... you went sniffing back after her, didn’t you?” The man on the other end of the phone no longer sounded cool and disconnected. He laughed and it was an insane, high-pitched giggle. After less than five seconds, it broke off. “You should know ... you need to get the fuck away from her, boy. She’smine.”
“No.” Travis stroked his hand down her spine even as fury clawed holes in him. “She wasn’t ever yours. And she never will be. Go back to weeping in your pillow, alone in whatever hole in the ground you crawled into.”
Then he disconnected the call.
Isabel opened her mouth but he shook his head. “I need a minute.”
“But—”
He jerked his head up and touched her cheek. “I know you’ve got questions. So do I. But I need to call Miles. If that was Beresford, we’ve got a problem ... the call was blocked and Miles already started trying to trace it and ran into a wall. That means ... ” He paused and tried to find the gentlest way to explain.
But her face had drained of color and she closed her eyes. “That means he’s not in prison. He can’t make those kinds of calls in prison.”
“No.” Travis cupped her face in his hands and pulled her close to him, pressing his lips to her forehead. “He won’t touch you, Bella-mine. I swear it. He won’t fucking touch you.”
