Page 120 of Commit

“It might be, but I can’t see the link between the two. The twins are dead, so they’re not the ones coming after me. We can dig more into them later. Focus on Starling.”

“Will do.”

“Oh, Kenzo, I have another number for you. It was carved into Abbot’s arm. Fifteen.”

“Shit, okay. I’m adding it now. So far, I haven’t had any hits. I’m going to see if I can figure this shit out on my own. I’ll call you back when I have something.”

When he hangs up, I pull out my phone and dial Landon’s number, but he doesn’t answer.

“Fuck!” I snarl, tossing the phone on the dashboard.

It takes twenty minutes to get to Landon’s apartment. When I spot my car parked outside, I jump out and look inside. Starling’s not there, but her bags are.

I jog to the entrance and press the buzzers for all the apartments until someone lets me in. When the door unlocks, I pull it open and take the elevator up to Landon’s floor. I hurry to his door and bang on it. When no one answers, I pull my gun and kick the door in.

I charge inside and find… nothing. I search the whole apartment, but no one’s here. The elevator dings as I walk back to the front door.

I aim my gun at the doors but lower it when Atlas steps out, holding his cell phone. “It’s Kenzo. He found something.”

“Hudson, can you hear me?”

“Go ahead.”

“The numbers. They’re code. I would have figured it out sooner, but we’ve been treating them as the number of victims, so we put the twins in the wrong order.”

“In English, Kenzo.”

“The numbers correspond to a letter in the alphabet. Twelve is L. One is A. We had the next two mixed up, which is why it took so long to figure out. Fourteen is N, and four is D. And now fifteen is O.”

“Landon?”

“We only have five letters, but it’s looking that way, yes. You aren’t the target. He is.”

“Kenzo, where did Abbot crash his car? If it hasn’t been towed yet, it should still be there.”

“Two secs. Got it. The car was towed from Monroe Street. Which is?—”

“Ten minutes from Keller View Way, where my summer house is. That’s where we’ll find Landon.”

“Are there any links between Landon and any of the other victims?”

“Just checking. Hold on.”

“Shit. He’s linked to Jessica, Kyle, Conner, and Derek. He’s their lawyer.”

“We need to get to the beach house now. If Landon’s the final target, then Starling will be collateral damage.”

“Or she’s the next victim. Landon’s her lawyer too. And it’s through him that Derek and Eloise met.”

I look at Atlas in horror. “GO!”

“I’ll meet you at the beach house.” Kenzo hangs up but I’m already halfway out the door.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Starling

Iwatch him warily as he comes over again.

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