Page 65 of Tactical Revival

“Jaxson?” The woman on the other line sniffles. “Is that you?”

“Lanetti?”

Margot’s eyes go wide.

“He found me again.”

“Where are you?” I demand.

“You said you would keep me safe,” she sobs.

“Tell me where you are!” I roar into the phone.

She cries out as though she’s been struck. “He—he said I could call you.” Her voice cracks. “He said to tell you something.”

“Where are you? Who said to tell me something?”

“Roses are red, violets are blue, wherever I go, you’re coming too. By the seashore. By the seaside. I’ll be forgotten, swept away by the tide.” She chokes on a sob. “Jaxson, please—” The call ends, and I stare down at my phone, fear and anger churning in my gut.

He’s toying with me.

I’d be willing to bet he let her go to give us all a false sense of security.

A win so we’d play his game harder.

And now he’s giving me the chance to find Lanetti—even when we both know she’ll likely be dead long before I do.

CHAPTER 18

Margot

“Repeat the riddle,” Lance says.

“‘Roses are red, violets are blue, wherever I go, you’re coming too. By the seashore, by the seaside, I’ll be forgotten, swept away by the tide.’” Jaxson is pacing back and forth, trying his best to keep his tone level, but I can see his fear.

It’s written all over his face. All over all of our faces.

I’m sitting in the lighthouse while Lance is standing before a dry-erase board, writing down the riddle Lanetti relayed to Jaxson. Elijah has headphones on and is still combing through the B&B’s exterior security footage, while Silas sits on a desk, staring at the riddle.

Jaxson keeps pacing.

He’d wanted to take me to Michael’s first, drop me off then come here, but with how shaken he was, I insisted on driving us here. My brother and Reyna are dropping Matty off with my parents, then coming straight over here as soon as he’s settled.

“Wherever I go, you’re coming too. Is that referring to you finding her?” I ask.

“That would be my bet,” Lance replies. “How did this guy work before?”

“It’s not the same person,” Jaxson says, stopping and placing both hands on the back of a chair. “My former partner confirmed that Morah’s still in prison and no one has visited him since he was convicted.”

“So a copycat.” Silas continues staring straight ahead. “That means he could be a wildcard.”

“He already proved that by letting Lanetti go, then grabbing her again.” Jaxson straightens and crosses his arms.

“You think he let her go on purpose?”

Jaxson nods. “It was a game. A way to show us what he’s capable of.”

“I don’t see anything we can use,” Elijah says as he removes his headphones. He looks up, his gaze traveling over everyone in the room. “Sorry, I didn’t hear anything else. What happened?”

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