Page 84 of To Hunt A Wolf
“What is it?” I ask, adrenaline pumping.
As usual, my training kicks in, and my heart rate remains steadily calm in the face of danger.
“It’s Kari,” she says.
“What about her? Is she—”
She puts up a hand to stop me. “Come. See for yourself.”
I follow her back to the fire where Jadick still waits. His entourage has left, and now it’s Levi and Tripp sitting with him.
“Did you tell her?” Tripp asks, glancing from me to my mom.
“Only that it’s about Kari,” my mom says as she takes a seat across the fire from Jadick.
“What happened to Kari?” I demand, refusing to sit.
Jadick doesn’t meet my eyes. Levi looks just as confused as I am, which means they haven’t told him either.
Tripp sighs. “Here.”
He holds out his phone, and I take it, noting he’s queued up a video. Levi comes to stand beside me and leans over my shoulder to watch. I press play.
Kari’s face fills the screen.
She’s gagged, and her cheeks are flushed red and tear-stained.
I draw a shuddering breath then hold it as the camera zooms out to reveal the rest of her. She’s tied to a chair. Her hair and clothes are dirty. But there’s no blood that I can see.
Not yet.
A sign rests in her lap.
On it, someone has scrawled words in black marker:Dear Mac,Will trade for Jadick Clemons. 24 hours or this deal dies.
After a beat, the camera pans around to reveal Thiago. He offers a sadistic sort of wave that’s friendly if you’re into serial killers and narcissistic assholes. The camera focuses on him until the picture goes black and the video ends.
“Fuck,” Levi says and moves away to pace.
“When was this sent?” I demand.
“About three hours ago,” Tripp says.
Forcing myself to breathe, I look at Jadick. “Dirk gave you up.”
“It seems that way.”
“He put my name on it,” I say, “which means he knows I’m with you.”
“It also means you have a target on your back as big as his,” Levi practically snarls.
“Relax, man,” Tripp tells him. “It just means he’s using her friendship with Kari against her.”
Levi rounds on him, but my mother interrupts.
“Tripp is right. Thiago knows using Kari as bait only works on the people who care about her most. And that’s Mac.”
I want to be mad, but my mother’s right, and all that matters now is Kari.
