“Units are en route,” the dispatcher said. “Are you at the location?”
“I’m on my way,” I said, already leaving the garage. “I will be there before they are.”
“Sir, stay on the line.”
“I’m still here,” I said as I took a sharp left, and cutting in front of another car, ignoring the chorus of horns behind me.
“Sir, the police will investigate. You need to stay put.”
I glared at the phone. Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. “Promise me you’ll send them.”
“They are already on their way. We’ve tried to reach out to Ms. Rhodes, and she’s not answering the phone. They’ll do a wellness check.”
“Thank you.”
I ended the call and slipped the phone into my jacket pocket. There was no way I was staying on the sidelines. I hadn’t spoken up when I should have before. I wasn’t making that mistake again.
The city blurred past the windows as my mind replayed the code, frame by frame. The restraint. The elegance. The way she’d buried the message where only I would think to look.
She’d been buying time.
For me.
For the police.
For anyone who could get there before whatever clock was ticking ran out.
“Stay with me, Mira,” I muttered, gripping the steering wheel. “Just stay where you are.”
I didn’t know who was with her.
I didn’t know what they wanted.
But I knew one thing with absolute certainty.
Whoever had forced her to break into our systems had made a catastrophic miscalculation.
Because I was coming.
And I wasn’t alone.
I reached her apartment building in record time, breaking several traffic laws in the process. I didn’t bother looking for parking, pulling straight up onto the curb, immediately drawing the doorman’s attention.
“Hey—!” he shouted.
I was already out of the car.
If a couple hadn’t chosen that exact moment to exit, he would’ve stopped me. Instead, I slipped inside before he could recover.
I didn’t wait for the elevator. I knew I’d need to be buzzed in anyway. Sirens wailed somewhere in the distance, close enough to hear, not close enough to matter.
My phone buzzed as I hit the stairwell. I slipped an earbud in without breaking stride.
“Not the time,” I said.
“It’s Stan,” Ethan said.
I took the first flight two steps at a time.
