Her gaze sharpened. “Do we know him?”
“Not yet,” Eli said. “He’s got a record but noobvious ties to anyone in our suspect pool.”
Delaney pushed her hair back and leaned forward to read over his shoulder. Her eyes tracked the lines quickly, mind clearly already working. “So someone hired him.”
Eli nodded. “Yeah. And that someone is still ahead of us.”
They shared a look. The kind that said neither of them would be sleeping anytime soon.
Delaney’s phone buzzed sharply on the coffee table, cutting through the low hum of tension between them. She snatched it up without checking the screen and answered immediately, her voice alert.
“Vivian?” she asked.
Eli leaned in as Delaney hit the speaker button.
“Delaney,” Vivian slurred. “Something’s wrong.”
Eli sat up straighter. His whole body went still.
“Vivian, where are you?” Delaney pressed, her tone urgent.
“I’m… I’m still at the hospital,” Vivian said. Her voice was shaky, frantic beneath the sluggish slur. “But Ava’s gone. She’s not in her bed. The nurse—she said she just… disappeared.”
Eli felt his pulse spike. “What do you mean gone?” he asked, leaning closer to the phone.
“She was here,” Vivian whispered. “I—I was sleeping, but I swear I didn’t hear anything. The nurse said she came in to check vitals and… Ava wasn’t there.”
Delaney’s eyes locked with his, wide and sharp. “Did you see anyone? Anything suspicious?”
“No. Just… I feel strange,” Vivian added, the panic rising in her voice. “My head’s heavy. Olivia’s still out cold. Something’s wrong, Delaney. I think… I think we were drugged.”
“We’re on our way,” Delaney told her. “Stay in the room and lock the door if you can.”
“Hurry,” Vivian pleaded, her voice breaking. “Please find my daughter.”
The call cut off, and the room went silent for a beat.
Eli stood, already moving. “Let’s go.”
The rain hit Eli’s face the second he pushed open the cabin door. It was steady, cold, and falling hard enough to turn the gravel path into slick mud. He didn’t slow. Delaney was right behind him, pulling her jacket tighter as they sprinted toward the SUV.
“Text Noah,” Eli said as he unlocked the doors.
“I’m on it.” Delaney climbed into the passenger seat, fingers flying over her phone. “Told him Ava’s gone. Vivian thinks they were drugged. He’s on his way to the hospital.”
Eli fired up the engine and peeled out of the drive. The wipers beat a frantic rhythm as they shot down the narrow road leading toward town. Trees blurred past in the dark, the headlights slicing through the downpour.
He gripped the wheel tighter than necessary. “She was supposed to be safe. We had a guard posted.”
Delaney’s voice was tight. “Someone got past him. Or maybe someone helped them.”
Eli didn’t answer. He didn’t trust himself to speak without giving voice to the fury clawing through his chest. Ava had been through hell. They were supposed to be past the worst of it.
He pressed harder on the gas.
They were three minutes out. Maybe less.
Rain slicked the pavement as Eli slammed the SUV into park and jumped out. Delaney was already moving, her ponytail soaked and clinging to her back as they sprinted toward the hospital’s sliding doors.
