Page 64 of Glamour and Grit

Little do you know that I think I can do better on my own.

Please don’t try and come after me, that would just be embarrassing.

Maybe next time think with your head, not your dick.

Everything will be alright now, I’ll find my brother on my own.

The screen is hard to make out. I sway, planting a firm hand on the doorframe to keep my balance. What in the Hell is she thinking? Even if she doesn’t want to be involved with me anymore, going after Moreno by herself is suicide.

I just can’t figure out why she’s doing this. Did she wake up and find me gone, and then get pissed off? I shouldn't have left her alone.

But what about the gunshot? I guess it was just a coincidence. It was just a hunter, and I overreacted.

Only, it’s not legal to hunt in this area. Not that people don’t break the law, but none of this is adding up.

I stare at the message again. The first thing that sticks out is how the message doesn’t sound like Selene. It’s not something she would say. If Selene were going to break up, she wouldn’t go about it like this.

Her phrasing is awkward and unwieldy, too. Selene’s sharp, and has been texting as long as she’s had thumbs. No way would she send a clunky text like this.

So why did she do it?

My eyes widen and my heart stops for a moment. Because somebody made her send it. That’s the only reasonable explanation.

So she probably sent this text with a gun to her head, figuratively or literally. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Selene is way too smart to pass up an opportunity to send a message along to me.

I wasn’t a code breaker in the Navy, but all the recruits had to attend classes and seminars on encryption. I never did very well and didn’t pay much attention. Maybe I should have, because if Selene left a message, I have no idea what it might be.

Using a stick and dirt as pen and paper, I try counting the first letter of every sentence, and seeing if it lines up with directional coordinates. But my first attempt has Selene out in the middle of the ocean. So that’s out.

Then I look down at the scratches in the dirt, where I have the letters written out.

Help me.

Acrostic message. Fuck me, I was overthinking it. We had thatwhole conversation about them and everything, and I’m trying to break down fucking military coordinates.

I begin a thorough check of the campground while sending off an SOS text to Platinum Security’s group chat, letting them know I’ve lost my client. It doesn’t take me long to figure out how they got in.

I drop to a crouch, fingering the dirt. Two sets of tracks, one a man’s size ten or twelve. Woman size nine. I follow the tracks up to the gravel logging trail.

Tire tracks, clear as day. There was definitely a vehicle here, and it seems logical that Selene was taken away in it.

My phone rings, and I quickly answer without even looking to see who’s calling.

“Hello?”

“Dane, are you all right?” Harlowe says. “We got your message.”

“I’m fine. But I think the Moreno family has Selene. Fuck. I screwed up, sis.”

“Calm down. Tell me everything you know.”

I give my sister the rundown, which doesn’t take long as I don't really know much.

“All right. Take a photo of the tire tracks and text it to me.”

My heart skips a beat.

“Can you find the vehicle that way?”

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