Page 76 of Searching Blind

“Because I don’t know what’s bugging me about this whole thing.” Slowly, he felt over each phone, mentally categorizing them by size and brand, hoping to place Bea’s distinctive case. When he finally found it—smaller than Lucy’s, slightly chipped on one corner—relief washed over him. “We need to charge this one first.”

It took a few minutes after they plugged it in, but the screen finally flickered to life with a robotic voice intoning, “VoiceOver on. iPhone. 10:05 PM. Notification from Messages: New message from Vince Walker. Notification from Mail: New email from Halston.” It continued listing off more notifications from both Walker and Halston.

“Vince Walker,” Zak muttered, and the chair behind his desk squeaked as he settled back into it. He tapped on his keyboard, the clicks of the keys loud in the silent room. “Why is that name ringing a bell?”

“I don’t know,” Sawyer said. “But Halston is a military contractor. Before I was injured, they were trying to wine and dine me into joining them when my enlistment was up. I told them to shove it. I hadn’t heard good things about them. Then I was shot, and they lost all interest.” He tapped into the messages on the iPhone.

“Messages,” the phone said in its robotic voice. “Vince Walker. Message, ‘You don’t need to come. I have it handled.’ Received Friday at 3:45 PM.”

“That was right before the earthquake,” Zak said. “Is there a reply?”

“No. Bea never received any of these.” He navigated to the email and opened it.

“Mail,” the phone said. “Halston. Subject: Mission Update. ‘What the fuck is going on? Walker says you’re there. Why the fuck did you take the client there? Theodore Carter is valuable. If anything happens to him, the blowback won’t just be on you. Get him off the mountain and report back immediately. Do not fuck this up.’ Received Saturday at 2:30 AM.”

“Wait,” Zak said suddenly and snapped his figures. “Vince Walker. He was black ops. He left the military before I did and hung out his shingle as a hitman.”

And the pieces clicked into place in Sawyer’s head. He sat back. “Grant told me he was using an alias. Vince Walker was his real name… and he knew Bea and Theodore. They were all fucking lying.”

The phone chimed. “Video Message. Unknown Sender. ‘You want to see your women again? Bring us Pierce St. James. Further instruction to come.’ Received just now.”

Zak shoved out of his chair so hard it clattered on the floor, startling Zelda. “Jesus. Anna!” He snatched the phone from Sawyer’s hand.

“Playing video message from unknown sender,” the phone said.

Sawyer strained his ears, but the video had no sound.

“They have her.” Zak’s voice was a raw wound, his pain palpable. “Fuck. Sawyer, they have them both.”

chapter

twenty-six

Lucy came awake slowly, and pain swamped her. God. Where was she? Where was Sawyer? She strained to think, but the last thing she remembered was watching Sawyer get loaded onto a helicopter. And then…

Nothing.

Just a black hole.

She struggled to sit up.

And that’s when she felt the cuffs on her wrists, cool metal biting into her skin. She was bound to something hard and unyielding. She tugged and pulled, but the cuffs held firm.

She listened for anything that might give her an idea of where she was. All she could hear was a soft humming noise, like an air conditioning unit, and the distant murmur of voices. She had no idea if they were friend or foe.

Panic ripped through her. She yanked on the cuffs, making them clatter against whatever she was bound to. A pipe of some kind.

“Lucy,” a soft voice said. A woman, and she was close. She sounded familiar, but Lucy couldn’t place her. “It’s okay.”

It was definitely not okay. She was cuffed to a fucking pipe! “Where’s Sawyer?”

“He’s safe.”

“What happened?”

“You were in the hospital. I told Sawyer I’d stay with you so he could get some sleep. He didn’t want to leave you, but I convinced him. When he left… God.” Her voice broke. “A nurse came in. I didn’t suspect a thing. She injected me with something, and I woke up here. I’m so sorry.”

Some of the panicked disorientation faded as she focused on the other woman’s voice. “Who are you?”

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