“Any of these names sound like a Raven to you? B. Moses. A. Rodriguez.”
“Oh, R…maybe Raven.”
Kyle’s features pinched. “Maybe. Maybe not. Third floor is open. Next one is–”
“Whoa, wait, what?” Alex said.
Kyle tapped the empty name plate. “Third floor unoccupied.”
“No,” Alex said with a shake of his head. “In this neighborhood? An entire loft open? I call fake news on that. That’s Raven.”
Kyle raised his eyebrows. “Oh, good call. Okay, umm, we can’t buzz him so…”
Alex grabbed the door handle and tugged. It swung open easily.
“Oh, nice,” Kyle said. “Third floor, here we come.”
They pushed into the foyer, climbing the stairs toward the third floor.
Alex’s heart skipped a beat as the door to the loft came into view. He hurried up the last few steps to the broken door. “Oh, no. Maybe…maybe this is the wrong place.”
“Won’t hurt to take a look around,” Kyle said as he hovered in the doorway.
Alex’s eyes fell to the bank of monitors across the room, all of them showing bright red letters that said DISK ERASED.
He swallowed hard as he shuffled closer to the screens. Someone had cleared out any sign of them having been here.
His pulse quickened. Had Ava been here? Had Raven cleared out and taken her?
“Uhhh, this isn’t good.”
Alex twisted to study Kyle who squatted next to a blob on the floor. In the dim light, he couldn’t quite make it out. Heinched closer, his stomach clenching as he realized it was a body.
At least it was too bulky to be Ava. “Dead?” he asked, his voice just above a whisper.
“Yep. And another one over there.” Kyle poked a finger toward a doorway. “Both shot.”
Alex’s pulse raced.Shot? What had happened here? And was Ava okay?
CHAPTER 8
AVA
“Where are we going?” Ava asked, her heart thudding as he guided her through unseen streets. With her voice muffled by the dark hood, she could barely hear herself.
His robotic voice sent a shiver down her spine as she continued forward with no knowledge of her whereabouts. “To a secure location.”
“That’s what you said the last time. And you turned out to be wrong. You’re slipping, Raven.”
His grip on her arm tightened, and she imagined his jaw was doing the same.
“Woo, tough crowd,” she said. “Not even an answer. You know, the least you could do is talk a little to pass the time.”
He still didn’t answer.
“Hey, are people staring? I mean the whole hood feels like an attention draw. Couple that with the creepy mask you’re wearing, and I feel like we’re really drawing attention.”
He tugged her to an abrupt stop. Her blood went cold as she wondered if she’d finally gone too far.
