Not loud.
But Vanessa hears him.
The line goes quiet in a way that makes my skin prickle.
“There he is,” she says. “The man who thinks standing close means he knows you.”
Cole steps beside me. “Vanessa.”
Her breath catches.
“You need to turn yourself in,” he says.
“Oh, I bet you sound very convincing to scared women.”
I feel the poison she is trying to slide into the room. I feel it search for a place to land. It finds nothing. Not this time.
Cole’s voice stays level. “No one else needs to get hurt.”
“I haven’t hurt her.”
I laugh. I cannot help it.
Vanessa makes a wounded sound. “Don’t laugh at me.”
“Then stop saying things that are insane.”
Sloane’s eyebrows lift slightly. Even Rafi freezes on the screen. The words shock me too. But they are true.
Vanessa’s voice drops. “That is him talking through you.”
“No,” I say. “That is me finally hearing the truth myself.”
Another silence.
Then Vanessa says, very softly, “You always come back when you’re scared.”
“I’m not coming back this time.”
The moment changes. I know it before anyone moves. The grief disappears from Vanessa’s voice. Something colder takes its place.
“Then I guess I’ll have to make sure he can’t keep you.”
Cole reaches for the phone. “Vanessa …”
The line disconnects. For half a second, no one breathes. Then everyone moves at once. Sloane grabs the laptop, Rafi still visible on the screen.
“Rafi, get the Sheriff to Bluefin. Quiet approach. I want marina exits covered and harbor patrol notified.”
“I’m sending units,” Rafi says. “She’s near the south slips, maybe moving.”
Cole turns to me. “You stay here with me.”
“No.”
“Kara …”
“No.” My voice shakes, but it does not bend. “She is at Bluefin because she saw us there. If she sees police first, what does she do?”
