Now that the thought is out there, I grow even more anxious. “Bursa is a skilled illusionist. He can make people think and see shit that isn’t true.” I cradle my head in my free hand. “I should have warned them about this.” I’m kicking myself right now for diminishing the threat.
“Bursa hasn’t hit the radar once since he disappeared. What makes you think this has anything to do with him?” I can hear Lewis typing on her computer. “I just made contact with someone at the safe house, everything is fine there. They said your dad is a pain in the ass, but all cops are.”
I blow out a breath. That’s good to hear, but it doesn’t help with Remy’s disappearance. “I don’t have anything solid on why I would think it’s Bursa, but Remy wouldn’t just vanish. We texted back and forth an hour ago. He knew we were coming back soon, he was waiting for us.”
Felix’s phone rings. “Hang on, this might be something,” I whisper, not even listening to see if Lewis replies.
Felix blessedly hits the answer button, then the speakerphone icon right after. “Hey, Ash, is Remy with you?” he asks.
“No, I left when you guys got home.” She sounds confused.
“When we got home?” Felix looks up at me. His face is a little pale.
“Yeah, I was on the porch, about to slip, when you guys pulled up.” She makes it sound like he must be crazy for not noticing her.
“Oh fuck,” I mutter.
“What’s going on?” Ash questions hesitantly.
“You only saw the car, not who was in it?” I question.
“It was the Cadillac. I know Rem’s car.”
“Hang up, she won’t be any help,” I tell Felix. To Lewis, I say, “It was Bursa. There’s no other explanation because it wasn’t us.”
“What’s his play here?” Lewis questions, not because she doesn’t believe me, more like she wants to run through possible scenarios.
“Make Remy think it’s me and see if he can get any information about where Belinda is?” I offer my first thought. “I don’t think Remy would fall for it. We’re bonded, and even if we weren’t, Remy would know it wasn’t me,” I argue once I have a second to think.
“What else could Bursa try?”
“Maybe a swap or trade of some sort.”
“Everything says this guy is too smart for that,” Lewis reasons.
“But he’s getting desperate, right? Otherwise, he wouldn’t try something like this. Desperate people are not rational.”
“He might not be able to convince Remy he’s you, but could he convince Remy that he has you by using illusions to try to force Remy to tell him what he knows?”
My stomach hurts, and I feel like I might throw up. “He could try, but Remy doesn’t know anything.”
“Bursa doesn’t know that. Like you said, he’s not thinking rationally.”
“I need to go. I have to find him.”
I’m about to hang up on Lewis when she calls out, “Wait!” I don’t hang up, but I don’t respond to her either. “Is there anything we can use to track him? He’s a big deal athlete or something, right?”
“Yeah, he plays for the Titans.” My voice is flat. This is wasting precious time.
“Sometimes they put tracking spells into expensive items, like bowl rings and watches. There are rules about using them to find people, but I can get around that.”
I’m shaking my head before she even finishes. “Remy doesn’t wear jewelry, but it was worth a shot, thank you. I need to go.”
“You have our full resources on this, Bishop. I’ll put out the word here and see what else I can dig up. Keep me updated.”
I’m already standing up from the table when I say, “Thank you,” and hang up.
“What are we doing?” Gray and Felix both rise with me.
