Page 114 of The Scarab's Game

“Where’s Jenn?” I asked, my gut twisting. I read people for a living, and I’d misjudged Dante from the start—he had no reason to react so strongly to the idea he was working with Fenix. If it were a con, he should have brushed it off, not looked like he’d swallowed a bottle of poison.

Dante’s head tilted, and the same realization I’d just had was mirrored in his eyes. “You’re not working with Fenix?”

“I said, ‘Where’s Jenn?’” I practically shouted, drawing a few curious glances from nearby guests.

“She was talking to Noah,” he said, pointing toward the side door. “In the?—”

I sprinted for the door, my heart pounding in my ears.

Jenn was alone with Noah. How could I have been so stupid? He hadn’t gone to see Martine—that was a distraction, so I’d finish the job with Jayce. Leaving Jenn unprotected.

How could I have left her vulnerable like that?

A bag flew over my head. Then the fist. The boot would come next.

I was safe.

But was Jenn?

I tore open the side door, sick fear climbing up and down my arms. The room was empty, with no sign of Jenn or Noah. Panic clawed at my throat.

“Brie, where is she?” I demanded, my voice echoing in the vacant space.

Over my earpiece, Brie said the words I didn’t want to hear. “Her GPS signal says she’s right next to you.”

I spun around, searching every corner of the room. Nothing. My mind raced, trying to puzzle out what happened. Had Noah found the tracker? Had he?—

No. I couldn’t let my mind go there.

And then?—

Ice spread up my spine, and I froze in place.

Her clutch.

On the floor.

Under a chair at the side of the room.

“Altitude reading,” I barked as I snatched her tiny bag from the floor. I fumbled with the buckle and tore it open. No bracelet.

Thank fuck! She still has it on.

Scarlett’s voice came through my earpiece, unusually quick for her. “She’s a hundred feet below you!”

My stomach dropped. The water exit. Of course.

I raced to the false wall concealing the elevator—thank god I knew this place so well—swinging it open with such force it slammed against the rock next to it. I jabbed the down button repeatedly, willing the elevator to arrive faster.

“C’mon, c’mon,” I muttered, staring at the ancient elevator dial.

It’s not moving, Emmett.

Even if someone was in the car, the dial should have been moving by now. Fuck. Was Noah in the elevator with her on the bottom floor? Or did he disable it somehow?

“Em, she’s moving southeast,” Scarlett’s voice came through again, the worry in her tone heightening my dread.

Southeast. Toward the water. Noah must have jimmied the door to stop it from coming back up.

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