Page 148 of Reckless

Silence. Not because the call has dropped, but because he’s listening.

“They delivered them here.” I swallow against the knot climbing my throat. “To Unsilenced.” Another heartbeat passes.

“What kind of photographs?” His voice has changed and gone completely flat. The kind of flat that usually comes a split second before something breaks.

Knock. Knock. Knock. “Sage!” Liam yells now.

I pull one photograph halfway from the box, staring at it even though I wish I weren’t. “The clubhouse.” I rifle through the box. “Millie’s bakery.” I keep digging. “The Sunday ride…” my voice catches, “… and P-Piper.”

There’s movement down the line, then the low rumble of his motorcycle, making me exhale in relief. “Is that Liam? Is he there with you?”

I glance at the window to see Liam’s panicked face. “Yeah, he’s outside the car.”

“Good, make sure he stays with you.”

“Ghost…”

“How close were the photos?”

I stare at the photograph, and my stomach rolls. “Close enough to see the freckles on her face.”

The engine beneath him suddenly roars louder as he accelerates. The sound comes through my phone speaker, hard and angry enough that I can almost picture the desert blurring around him.

“They photographed Piper?” he asks, quieter than before.

“Yeah.”

A long breath leaves him. “Were there any notes?”

“No.”

“Anything written inside the box?”

I shake my head before remembering he can’t see me. “No.”

“You opened it?”

“I…” I glance toward the parcel beside me. “Yeah.”

Another slow breath. “That’s all right.” His voice stays steady. “Don’t touch it again.”

“Okay.”

“Leave everything exactly where it is.”

“I will.”

“Sage?”

I flare my nostrils. “Yeah?”

“I need you to stay in your car.” My eyes lift automatically, scanning the parking lot, wondering how he knew where I was. “I can do that.”

“I’m coming.” The line goes dead.

“Sage, what’s going on!” Liam bangs on the window again.

For a long moment, I sit there with the phone still pressed against my ear, staring at my reflection in the black screen after the call disconnects, then glance back at the box.