“Like what?” I seethe.
He sighs. “Mostly human human intelligence. She may have erased herself from the digital world, but she can't erase her physical presence. We’ll cooperate with other agencies, and we’ll find her, Dr. Marquis. I promise we will.”
Empty promises. That’s all this is. False hope.
A surge of anger courses through me. Damon was correct. The FBIislimited. They can only do so much for us. We need to find her. We need to hunt her down. Not in a year or a decade. Now. We need to find her right fucking now.
I tried the legal route, the proper route, but it’s becoming more and more evident that we must take matters into our own hands.
We need Red. She’s seen Toni’s digital signature. She knows what to look for. Toni might have wiped her existence but she’s still out there, and that’s unacceptable.
No matter the cost, we need to find her. I won’t stop until we do.
"Quinton?" Emery's voice calls out from the living room. “Quin?”
"I'll be right there," I say back to Emery, then turn my attention back to the agent. "Keep me updated, Ube.”
"Of course, Dr. Marquis.”
“I mean it. Any new piece of information, you share it, is that clear?”
“Let us do our job, Dr. Marquis,” he says, clipped. “We’re professionals. We will handle this.”
I almost want to laugh at him, but I don’t. I don’t utter another word. It’s useless. We’re on our own.
Ending the call, I pocket the phone and join Emery and Damon in the living room, attempting to appear unfazed and present. I’m a horrid actor. She notices my unease straight away.
“What’s wrong?’ Emery asks, brow perked. “Who was that?”
“Nothing’s wrong, darling.” I offer her a reassuring smile that she doesn’t buy, not even for a penny. “Just a work call.”
She crosses her arms. “You’re lying.”
“It’s nothing,” I say, tone lacking conviction. “I don’t want to worry you, darling.”
She tilts her head. “We said no more secrets, Quin. Whatever it is, I can handle it.”
Damon’s eyes darken. “Tell us.”
I swallow. They’re right. No more secrets.
“That was Agent Ube. He’s just informed me that Toni hacked into all their servers and wiped herself from their systems.Alltheir systems. In the eyes of the law, she doesn’t exist anymore.”
Emery’s face pales as she staggers backward, her calves hitting the edge of the couch before she sits down. “That’s not good.”
“No, it’s not.” I sit in the armchair opposite of her as Damon hovers between us, his expression tense. “Maybe we should put off buying a house…” I bury my face in my hands. “At least our condos are monitored and guarded. There’s security and?—”
“No,” Emery mutters, shaking her head. I look up at her, and she flits her weary gaze between Damon and me. “No,” she says again, more confident, more certain. “I… We can’t stop living our lives because we’re afraid, Quin. What if… What if we never find her? What then? She can’t dictate our future like this. That’swhat she wants. She wants us to be scared. No. This house…” Emery looks around and smiles, genuinely smiles, and for a moment all seems well. “We need this, Quin. I…” She glances at Damon. “I think weallwant a new beginning.”
“I agree with Emery. We can’t let that bitch control us,” Damon states. “We’ll hire round-the-clock security. Ex-military. We’ll?—”
“In that case, I think we should contact Red again,” I say, dreading another round of cat-and-mouse. “If anyone can track down Toni, it’ll be her.”
“For all we know, Toni could be halfway around the world not even thinking about us,” Emery says, and I’m taken aback by her newfound optimism. “Maybe she wiped herself because she also wanted a fresh start. Maybe we’re worrying for no reason.”
Damon cocks his head. “Given what you’ve told us about your last interaction together, I doubt she’s on a beach somewhere drinking a fucking margarita.” He glances at me. “Quinton killed her girlfriend. There’s no way she’s not out for blood.”
“Simone said that Toni left her, though,” Emery mutters. “Maybe?—”
