“But now?”
“Now I think maybe he trusted her.”
Wes looked toward the laptop again. “Call her.”
Rowan hesitated. The intensity of her fear surprised her. It wasn’t fear for herself this time. It was fear of dragging someone else into this.
She pulled her gaze up to meet Wes’s. “What if contacting her makes things worse?”
Wes’s gaze locked with hers. “What if she’s already in danger?”
That decided it. Rowan found Celia’s number still saved in her contacts. For a second she only stared at the screen.
It was early in California. But she knew Celia was working on Vince’s movie. That meant she would be up and at the studio before dawn.
That meant she would be awake right now.
Rowan pressed Call.
The line rang once. Twice. Three times.
Finally, a woman answered. “Hello?”
Relief hit Rowan so fast it almost made her dizzy. “Celia?”
“Rowan?” Celia’s voice dropped lower. “Are you okay? Everyone is so worried about you.”
“I—I don’t know.” Rowan glanced at Wes before continuing. “Listen, Celia. I don’t have much time. But I need to ask you something about Thayer.”
Silence answered her, the stretch long enough that Rowan’s grip tightened around the phone.
When Celia finally spoke again, her voice sounded tight with fear. “Rowan, you shouldn’t be calling me.”
A chill moved through Rowan. “Why? Why shouldn’t I be calling you?”
Noise shifted in the background, like a car door shutting somewhere nearby.
“Because people are already asking questions. Hold on. I need to move to a secure location.”
Rowan waited.
A moment later, she came back on the line. “Okay, I have some privacy now. Thank God. Are you in Virginia?”
Rowan blinked. “How’d you know that?”
“Entertainment sites have been posting sightings. You need to stay out of Los Angeles.”
Fear tightened Rowan’s chest. “Celia, what’s happening? What do you know that I don’t? I know Thayer talked to you. What did he tell you?”
Celia hesitated.
“Please,” Rowan said. “My future is on the line right now. And think about Thayer. He deserves justice.”
Still nothing.
“This is about Vince, isn’t it? Thayer found something on Vince.”
Finally, Celia whispered, “Thayer found cameras.”
