Page 115 of Reclaimed

“What do you know?” I fire off as soon as he’s within earshot. The strength in my voice vastly contrasts the chaotic storm of emotion raging inside of me.

“Her coworker was found outside in a pool of his own blood. Isla’s check was beside him. The owner got a call around five-after-three from one of the club’s security guards that he saw Islaforced into the passenger side of a mid-2000s sedan and was following. They hung up, the boss called you, and his security guard called the cops with the plates.”

I run a shaky hand over the stubble on my cheek. The abrasive prickle in my palm grounds me some. “Then what?”

Lee’s jaw clenches, and I brace.

“Just before you got here, a call came into dispatch to report a car in the ditch with a deceased male inside.”

“The security guard?”

Lee’s mouth forms a grim line and he nods. “He shot at him through the windshield. The security guard crashed into a ditch and wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. He died on scene.”

My gaze flickers over the blood stain again. “Fuck,” I whisper, gripping the strands of my hair with both hands. “Fuck! The coworker?”

Lee shakes his head. “He was dead before the ambulance arrived.”

Silas steps into our group, and my attention locks onto my old friend. “How do we find her now?”

“County is crawling the roads from where the car was found, and every town to the north has been put on alert. The security guard did a good job of relaying information to dispatch, so we were able to put out a BOLO on the suspect and car.”

That’s good, but it’s not enough. The county roads to the north are numerous, branching off in all directions like the veins of a primary river. Who knows how much farther the guy needs to drive before he arrives at his final destination? The longer he’s on the main roads, the better chance we have to find her.

“Do we know anything about the suspect?”

Silas shakes his head. “Unfortunately, the plates were stolen. We got a description from the security guard. Mid-forties to mid-fifties white male wearing glasses. We’re reviewing security footage now.”

“Why aren’t you out there?”

Silas scowls. “I was ordered to stay here.”

“By who?” I bite out.

His face twists into a pained mask. “My jackass of an older brother.”

I shrink the gap between us. “And you’re going to choosenowto listen to him?” I seethe.

A hand on my shoulder holds me back. Jude squeezes, keeping me still. “Without Silas, we wouldn’t know anything. It doesn’t do us any good to have him running around the state blind.”

“Jude.” I turn to implore him. For what exactly, even I don’t know.

He shakes me hard. “I know.”

A silent conversation passes between us.

The sound of my phone ringing interrupts, and I retrieve the device from my pocket. My mind empties of everything but the two words on the screen.

Isla Calling…

“It’s her.”

A band tightens around my chest as I stab my finger against the screen. I look to Jude as I put the device on speaker.

“Hey!” Silas flags down a detective a few feet away. “We need a trace on this call.”

“Talk to me, starshine.”

The line crackles, relaying nothing but movement and the sound of air rushing by. I can’t tell if she’s still in a car or outside.

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