His head tilts with disappointment. “Nothing on the monitor,” he says. “Not that I’d know if I did. The bloody thing is a hundred years old.”
I scoff with amusement. “Yeah, I’m going to fix that.”
“Is that what you do?” he asks. “Install security systems?”
“Not exactly.” I watch as he pulls his phone out again. “What was that about Granny’s card?”
Archer swipes it on. “Lilah’s got a credit card open in her dead grandmother’s name,” he explains.
“That’s not very smart.”
“She used it to gas up their bikes in Denver last week,” he continues, “I followed the trail from there to Iowa to Boston and now here.”
“The Harts went to Iowa?” I ask, my chest skipping.
He nods with confusion. “Can’t say why. I tracked them to an old farmhouse and all I found was a very old lady with a nasty case of dementia and a real bastard of a dog. I pissed off, thinking I must have missed something when Lilah used the card again outside of Indianapolis.”
I smile inside. Mrs. Clark must have picked up a few acting skills from Dani. At least I get to confirm to Fox that his friend is still safe and loyal.
“You said they had bikes?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“They had a car on the security footage.”
“Must be a rental,” he says, throwing his focus back at his phone.
“Or they stole it,” I point out.
“I prefer a bit of optimism,” he quips. A few seconds pass and he grits his teeth. “But still no recent charges...”
I spin back toward my laptop. “They drove off in a black sedan. I can check to see if any have been reported stolen in the last twelve hours.”
“Right.” Archer chuckles. “Let’s run a search for the most common type of stolen car. That’s sure to narrow it down.”
“If you have another suggestion, I’m all ears.”
I start my search and he says nothing to argue. It annoys me not knowing where to look. Information and intelligence have always been on my side but, right now, I feel absolutely hopeless.
Caleb is gone. I have no idea where they’ve taken her. I have no clue where to look. Granny’s credit card aside — the Harts are ridiculously smart. They won’t peek their heads out until they want to be found and by the time that happens, it’ll be too late to stop whatever it is they plan on doing to her.
“There have been three reported stolen in Los Angeles today,” I read. “Two were found shortly after and the other was a false alarm.”
Archer sighs. “I guess we wait for them to slip up.”
“I don’t have time to wait until they slip up.” My phone buzzes in my pocket. I ignore it. “And did it ever occur to you that they’re using that card on purpose?”
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“You’re dealing with two world-class assassins and you think you’ve outsmarted them by tracking their dead grandmother’s credit card?” I shake my head. “Think about it, Archer. Who’s chasing who here? They’re leaving breadcrumbs and it isn’t to feed the birds.”
I finally reach into my pocket, angry at the persistent vibration against my thigh.
“You think they’re leaving a trail? Why?” he asks.
I open my mouth to answer but fall silent as I see Caleb’s name staring back at me from my phone. “It’s her…” I mutter.
Archer steps closer, cracking a bit more glass beneath his feet. “Who?”