Carson’s phone rang. Captain Holloway.
“We’ve got a problem,” Holloway said. “The gas station footage? It’s not Eugene. It’s someone wearing a mask. A decoy.”
Carson’s blood ran cold. “Where is he really?”
“We don’t know. But, Carson—the safe house. We just got a silent alarm. Someone triggered the perimeter sensors.”
“When?”
“Three minutes ago.”
No. Nonono.
Carson had brought Nora with him. The safe house was empty except for the two officers on guard.
Officers who hadn’t checked in.
“Get units there now,” Carson ordered, already turning the car around.
“Already done. But—”
“What?”
“Eugene left another message. Spray-painted on the side of the house.” Holloway’s voice was grim. “It says ‘CHECKMATE.’”
Carson’s hands tightened on the wheel. Eugene had known. Had known Carson would take the bait, would leave the safe house vulnerable.
And now—
“We need to move to a new location,” Carson said, glancing at Nora. “Eugene knows about the safe house. He’s tracking us somehow.”
“How?” Nora asked. “We’ve been careful. No phones, no—”
She stopped. Looked down at her purse.
“What?” Carson demanded.
With shaking hands, Nora pulled out her phone and opened the back. A small device was wedged inside—a GPS tracker.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “He’s been tracking me this whole time. Since before. Since—”
“Since you first reported him,” Carson finished. “He put a tracker in your phone months ago. That’s how he always knew where you were.”
Which meant Eugene knew exactly where they were right now.
Carson’s eyes went to the rearview mirror, and his stomach dropped.
A dark sedan three cars back. Following at a steady distance.
The same sedan from Nora’s first night in the parking garage.
Eugene had found them.
And the hunt was far from over.
Chapter 15
Carson’s mind raced, calculating options.
