Page 135 of Blind Prophet

I spin on the sidewalk, holding the phone out.

I am on the dot.

A trash can inside the door of the coffee shop snags my attention.

Fucking hell.

I shove the swinging trash can top aside.

Caroline’s purse.

I dig it out of the trash and flip it open.

Her phone.

Dammit. Fucking hell!

Someone has her.

Luke. Does that bastard work for Geoffrey?

Please let her still have the other tracker on her body. I press to locate it and sprint across the street with her handbag.

I sling the door open to Arrow’s offices. Ryan, Sophia, and two others are standing in the reception area.

“He’s got Caroline. Found her handbag in the trash. But she’s got another tracker on her he doesn’t seem to know about.”

I pull up our satellite command interface on my phone. Within seconds, I have eyes on the area from three different orbital positions. He—or they—might be able to dodge street cameras, but they can’t hide from my network.

I thrust my phone screen in Ryan’s face.

“They’re on the move.”

CHAPTER33

CAROLINE

Establish dialogue, build rapport, gather intel.

“What do you want with me?”

“I told you—quiet.”

Details tell a story: his tight grip on the weapon, microexpressions, vocal stress patterns. Luke’s at ease, focused, and there’s no internal conflict.

The driver rounds the bend. We’re in a limousine with black tinted windows. Luke’s handgun remains trained on me.

If elimination was the goal, he had cleaner options at the office. This is about leverage, which means I’m worth more alive than dead. Classic strategic play: target the asset that provides maximum tactical advantage.

“Who do you work for?”

“Quiet. I’m not telling you again.”

The driver’s wearing sunglasses and black leather gloves. I’ve never seen him before, but I suspect he’s watching me in the rearview.

The limousine is a good choice. The blacked-out windows fit, and no one will suspect the vehicle holds a kidnap victim.

But why me?

---