Chapter Twenty-Seven
The phone buzzed onthe nightstand, fierce and insistent in the dark.
Chloe surfaced from sleep with a gasp, heart already racing before her brain caught up.Middle of the night texts were never good, she thought, as she fumbled for the phone with shaking fingers.
Danica.
Her breath hitched.Relief exploded through her so fast it almost hurt.She’s okay.She found a charger.
Hope was a reckless bitch.It never learned.
It took Chloe a second to understand what she was seeing.The image was grainy and brightly lit.It appeared to be taken in a hurry, or under a floodlight.Danica was sprawled on a concrete floor, wrists bound in front of her with chains, hair tangled and makeup smeared.Her eyes were wide and terrified, fixed on something just beyond the frame, something Chloe couldn’t see.
Chloe’s stomach dropped so hard she thought she might be sick.
“No,” she whispered.“No, no, no.”
Kayne was upright instantly, hand on her arm.“Chloe.What is it?”
Instead of answering, she handed him the phone.Kayne’s body went rigid as he studied the image
“Damn it,” he breathed, the words torn straight out of him.He was already reaching for his own phone.
Somehow, she dressed, or attempted to.Her fingers didn’t want to work.Kayne had to help because she was useless.He guided her to the kitchen.Lights came on.Doors opened.Footsteps thundered down the hall.
Anja appeared first, hair loose and eyes focused despite the hour.Leo was right behind her, fury barely contained.
Chloe clutched the phone in her grip.“It came from Danica’s number,” she said, the words tumbling out.“She texted me.I thought—God, I thought it meant she was okay.”
Anja took the phone gently, studied the image, then flipped to the metadata with swift, practiced movements.“The phone was on briefly,” she said.“Seconds at most.”
“Location?”Leo demanded.
“Pinged near Danica’s apartment,” Anja replied.“But not inside it.More like in the vicinity.”
Chloe’s hope collapsed inward, folding on itself.“They want us to think she’s close,” she said faintly.“Or they want us looking in the wrong place.”
Kayne’s hand settled at the small of her back.“They turned the phone on long enough to send the message and disappear,” he said.“They know exactly what they’re doing.”
The kitchen felt too small suddenly.Chloe sank into a chair.“She’s alive,” she said, clinging to the one fact that mattered.“She’s alive.That means we can find her.”
Leo crouched in front of her, gripping her hands.“We will,” he said fiercely.
Anja was already pacing, mind clearly sprinting ahead.“The photo matters,” she said.“So does the chain, the lighting, and the fact that they didn’t say anything.”
