Elijah's fingers won't cooperate to dial Céline's number on the sat phone. He's shaking too badly.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck."
I take the phone and dial, putting it on speaker.
Sev bounces on the balls of his feet, looking between the phone and the windows. If we don't leave soon, we're going to lose him. He'll tear through the Costa Brava like a fucking hurricane, and it won't be good for anyone involved, including us.
Céline answers on the fifth ring because apparently the woman lives to torture me. "Hel?—"
"Céline, where are you right now?"
I can hear cars. The chirp of a pedestrian crossing. "I'm out walking Ellie, is every?—"
"Don't go back to your apartment," Eli races to say. "Something's wrong. You need to getoutof Boone."
"Are you being followed?" I ask.
"Why?"
"Céline!"
There's a pause, and then, "No. No, I don't think so."
"Good. Keep an eye out. You remember where the laundromat is?"
"Yes," she breathes, her voice edged in panic. "But someone please tell me what's happening. Where is Aurora? Is she all?—"
I bring the phone closer to my mouth. "Céline, we need you to go to the laundromat. Parked in the back is a car I left for you. The keys are in the light fixture next to the back door. I need you to pay close attention. You need to destroy this phone, take Ellie, get in that car, and drive straight to our place. Do you remember how to get there?"
"Is that smart?" Eli asks me.
"We have no choice. It's the only protected location that's close enough," I answer him, covering the receiver, and thenfinish my instructions to Céline. Including the safeguards I never shared with the guys.
"Y-yes," Céline says. "I think so."
"You do not stop until you get there, Céline. There's a fob in the armrest that will automatically open the gate and the front door."
"Okay."
"And, Céline?"
"Yes?"
I meet my brother's eyes, and my stomach twists. "If we don't make it back?—"
"Atticus!"
"If we don't make it back," I repeat, more harshly because I need her to fucking listen to me. "In my office, you will find everything you need to start a new life, but I have two requests: Julian Ashford?—"
"Elijah's father?"
Eli's lips press into a tight line before he turns away, taking a long, shuddering breath.
"You will be in charge of his care. The paper is signed on our end; it just needs your signature. I know it's asking a lot, but hopefully it won't come to that."
"No," she says stubbornly, her voice watery and rage-filled as her accent grows stronger in the face of her emotion. "No, I will not sign anything. I will not because you will come home. You will all come home."
I wipe a palm over my mouth. I know she'll do it. Of course, she will.
