Page 52 of Tactical Revival

“There are no plates,” Elijah tells me. “But this person followed Reyna and Margot out of the diner parking lot.”

“Anything on the phone?” I ask him.

“Nope. It was a burner and has since been turned off. We can’t locate it, but the last ping was in that parking lot.”

“And the pin they sent?”

“Easy to do. Anyone can send a pin anywhere without being in that location. It was a trap.”

The front door of the lighthouse opens, and Lance strolls in alongside a furious-looking Michael.

“Chad has an airtight alibi,” he growls.

“How airtight?” I’ve seen criminals have seemingly strong alibis, only to have them broken the second I get them across a table.

“He was sitting in a jail cell after being picked up for drinking and driving,” Lance tells me.

“How are they?” I’d left them at the hospital so I could try and make headway on who was responsible for the call and the accident, but I’ve been desperate to get back to Margot ever since I left.

“Reyna has a concussion and some bruising, but is otherwise okay. Margot has a concussion and lacerations on her hands and abdomen, courtesy of whoever tried to rip her out of the car.”

“Matty?”

“He’s good. He’s staying the night with my parents so Margot will hopefully take things slow.” Michael looks beyond furious, and I’m certainly right there with him. He could have lost his wife and sister in one accident, and we can’t seem to figure out how or why.

“I was out at the scene of the accident this morning,” Lance tells us. “Looking for a card.”

“You think this is tied to Lanetti?”

“I didn’t find one,” he tells me. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not. It just seems far too suspicious that Lanetti is still missing, we have no leads whatsoever, and now someone targets Margot.”

“I should have moved out. The second I thought this could be tied to me.” Furious at myself, I begin to pace.

“No. You’re right where you need to be. If you hadn’t been there, someone could have grabbed Matty, too.” Michael steps in front of me.

“No one came after Matty, though.”

“Because you were there with him. If someone is targeting my sister on Chad’s behalf, grabbing Matty would be the way to go.”

It was my thought, too, and why Chad was my first suspect. “And if this is tied to Lanetti?”

“We’ll get it figured out. But you’ve been up all night.” Lance clasps a hand on my shoulder. “Head back to the B&B, get some sleep, and we’ll keep you updated.”

“I can’t sleep until we get some answers.”

Alaric even called earlier to let me know that he’d found nothing notable but he would keep digging. However, I know him well enough to read his tone, and he doesn’t think there’s a connection.

As improbable as it is, there’s someone else out there using Morah’s calling card to taunt me. But why? Who?

“You need sleep,” Michael says. “So do I. We’ll link up later, okay?”

“Sure.” But I don’t feel good about leaving.

“Margot needs you,” Michael tells me. “Go check on her and make sure she’s safe. Please? It will help me rest.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks.”

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