“I’m not following.”
“It’s an implant.”
I blink. People did that? “Inside her? Why?”
“She’s a high value asset, you know that.”
Yes, but she left a few years back. “But she’s out.”
“And she replaced it with her own version. The first I knew of it was tonight. Somehow, she linked it to my phone.”
“When we called to check in, she said to give her two hours,” Honor says as her forehead crumples. “But I have this gut feeling…”
I’m already moving, shoving clothes and items back in my bag. “How long since she called?”
“Twenty minutes,” Honor answers.
“Where is she? Texas?” That would make sense if she gave Fox and Honor her location.
“Miami,” Fox says. “And I wouldn’t ask, but we are hours away, and you are already there.”
Normally, I don’t tell people where I’m going, but the meddling ladies in the book club I frequent via Zoom, led by Fox’s grandmother, Helen, have a knack of ferreting out personal information. I also help Honor provide a haven for domestic violence survivors. She needed to know I wasn’t local, meaning they couldn’t count on me if something happened.
“She’s at a club called Cloud,” Honor says.
“I did a little digging,” Fox adds as I sprint out of the room with my bag over my shoulder.
I drop the key on the hotel desk as I pass. “Checking out early, family emergency. My card is on file. Bill me.” Then I’m out the door and heading to the parking lot.
“What did you find?” I ask as I secure my bag to the bike and shrug my jacket on.
“On the outside, it looks like an exclusive club for the rich and elite.”
My stomach knots. “And the inside?”
“A front for the biggest sex trafficking ring in the country.”
“Fuck. Drop the location to my phone.”
What were you thinking, Ghost?I already know. She’s on a mission, and it’s personal. It must be to risk her life this way. She forgets she has friends who care though, or perhaps she doesn’t realize it. The notification pings, and my gaze narrows as my heart races. “I’m fifteen minutes out.”
“Go get our girl,” Honor says with a slight wobble in her voice. “I have a terrible feeling about this.”
Only a fool ignores a woman’s instincts.
“I’ll call once I have her.” I shove my phone in my pocket, disconnecting the call so I can concentrate on making the twenty-five minute journey in fifteen. My gut twists. Honor is right; something about this feels wrong. Ominous. Ghost stays behind the scenes. She can handle herself, sure, but she excels at tracking and hacking. Something’s forced her deeper into the dark. Fate placed her in my path, weaving our destinies together.
No denying it now, little hacker. I’m coming for you.
Chapter Nine
Eleanor
Be careful what you wish for.
When swimming in shark-infested waters, don’t bleed. Don’t panic. Don’t act like prey. Hold eye contact like you belong in their world, even if it makes you sick. Survival is the name of the game.
My blood slows and freezes in my veins as Jonathan spins around to face us, a wide grin stretching his face. I’ve caught him on camera numerous times over the last decade, but nothing compares to staring into the eyes of my enemy in real life. It doesn’t account for the grip on my heart as it trembles in my chest, struggling to beat. And it definitely doesn’t prepare me for his assessing gaze as my hip blazes with long-forgotten fire. He tilts his head like he’s trying to place me. If only the Force was real. I could make him believe I wasn’t the girl he was looking for, and he’d walk away, none the wiser. While I wait for the Force to tap me on the shoulder as a chosen one, I’ll have to rely on the many changes I’ve undergone in the last decade. I am not the malnourished vulnerable little girl he pinned and brandedall those years ago. I broke my nose learning to ride a bike at eighteen, and the repair got rid of the bump on the bridge. The contacts shield the same startling blue eyes I was gifted by my mother, and my rich chocolate hair is hidden beneath the scratchy blonde wig. I might conjure familiarity, but I’m hoping the changes are enough to throw him off my true identity. If not? I’ll make sure to take him down with me.
