Page 131 of Hushed

Her heart lurched. Had something happened to her best friend? She was an ass for not having checked on her already. It seemed like weeks had passed since she rescued her friend from an emotional meltdown instead of only two days.

“Of course. What do you want with Maggie?”

“We’re taking your advice and trying to get her story. It might be enough to point us in the right direction to shut this down. And if you keep her on the phone long enough, we can trace the call and pinpoint her location.”

She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her recent calls until she found Maggie’s name.

The phone rang several times before a breathless Maggie answered.

“Kenzie? Where the hell are you?”

“I’m back in New York, but I’m at a friend’s house and haven’t been home yet. Where are you?”

“I’m… somewhere safe. I think.” Her voice wobbled, and Kenzie knew right away that her friend wasn’t safe.

“Where? Can I come to you?”

Maggie gasped. “No! You can’t do that. It won’t be safe for you.”

Reggie stood and held his hand out for the phone, but Gage waved him away and wrapped an arm protectively around her while Samuel put a hand on Reggie’s shoulder.

“What’s going on, Maggie? I’m worried about you. You were fine at my apartment when I left for D.C.”

“It’s a long story. Someone followed me back to your place. It made me uncomfortable, so I ran. But now I’m scared to leave where I am or tell anyone the location.”

“Keep her talking,” Gage whispered.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you, honey. Can you tell me what time? What they looked like? Anything? Gage can look at camera footage.”

Kenzie had no idea if that was something Gage could actually do or not, but it seemed plausible, given his vast resources.

“It was dark, so I couldn’t make out a lot of details. Tall, wore a big coat and a hat to hide his face. Maybe a white guy, but I’m not sure.”

Gage squeezed her hand, and Kenzie took a deep breath. “OK. Gage is here with some friends, and he can help you if you let him. We just need an address.”

“I just… I trust you, but I don’t know Gage so I’m nervous. This all started happening when he came back around.”

Kenzie frowned. Was she really suspicious of Gage? And what Maggie was saying wasn’t technically true. If her math was right, she was attacked at The Cage before Gage came back into the picture.

But she didn’t want to make Maggie hang up by questioning her facts.

“I can understand that. But I’m not sure how to help you if you can’t tell me where you are.”

Maggie sighed. “I’m sorry, Kenz. I want your help. But it doesn’t feel safe. I should go.”

Kenzie looked at Gage, and he gave her a thumbs up. She took it to mean he had a location.

Not wanting to sound too eager, Kenzie objected one more time. “Come on, Mags. We’ve been friends for years. Don’t shut me out.”

The line went dead, and Kenzie stared at the phone.

“What the hell just happened?”

Samuel dragged a hand down his face. “This might be hard to hear, but I think your friend has been working with the trafficking ring.”

Reggie ducked his head, and Kenzie glared.

“Someone please tell me what’s going on. I can’t stand this trickle of information.”

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