Page 86 of Velvet Vaughn

Answer stared up at him from the display.

“It’s the burner.”

Anja was beside him in two strides, close enough that he could feel the tension radiating off her, Remi on her heels.

Leo held the phone at arm’s length and gave it plenty of personal space. “Should I answer it?”

“No. If you do, whoever’s on the other end knows for certain you have it. Right now, all they’ve got is a guess. We don’t hand them the confirmation for free.”

The chime cut off mid-ring. For three full seconds, nobody moved, and then the screen lit again with a single buzz indicating a text.

Leo turned the phone so all three of them could read it.

You can run, but you can’t hide. I’ll be seeing you soon.

The words sat there, plain white letters on a black screen, and Leo felt something cold work its way down the back of his neck.

“Well, that’s not ominous at all,” Remi muttered.

“They know we have it, and they’re testing to see if we’ll flinch.”

“Can you trace the text?” Leo asked.

“We can try.” Remi had his own phone out, thumb moving fast across the screen. “Hey, Tyler,”

Tyler’s voice came through the speaker. “Please tell me nobody’s bleeding this time.”

“Nobody new. We need you to trace an incoming text from the burner phone from Vic’s mailer. It just lit up.”

“On it. Okay. I’ve got it pinging off the network now.”

Leo kept his eyes on the phone’s dark screen, half expecting it to light up again. Anja stood close enough that her arm pressed against his, an anchor he hadn’t realized he needed until it was there.

“Okay.” Tyler’s exhale wasn’t the least bit victorious. “Here’s the bad news. This one’s bouncing across at least a dozen towers between three states. Whoever sent it is either driving at highway speed with a signal booster, or they’re running the text through a relay built to scatter the origin point. Either way, I’ve got squat. No fixed location.”

“And the good news?” Anja asked.

“Yeah, sorry. There isn’t any. These people know what they’re doing.”

Leo set the phone down on the desk, the message still glowing faintly on the screen, and looked at Anja.

“They know we’re on to them, don’t they?”

“Not necessarily.” Anja didn’t look away from him. “But they want you to think they do. There’s a difference, and we’re going to hold onto it until they prove otherwise.”

Outside, the wind picked up in the trees surrounding the property, and in the distance, an owl hooted twice. Leo listened to the house settle around them and thought, not for the first time tonight, that quiet had stopped being synonymous with safe a long time ago.