Page 94 of Scorched

His cell rang from the cargo pocket on his Dickies. He fished it out and frowned at the unfamiliar number, then slid his thumb over the screen.

“Hello?”

“Son, I’m glad you took my call.”

Shock rendered Declan speechless.

“I have something of yours.” Declan heard rustling, then his dad’s muffled voice.

“Say hello.”

“Declan?”

“Maggie?” Declan’s heart stuttered, then kicked into overdrive. “Oh, thank God you’re safe. Why did you leave your purse and your shoes? I thought—”

Cole’s laugh stopped him. “Oh, she’s not safe, my boy. The opposite, in fact.”

“What? What do you mean? Dad, what’s going on? Is Maggie okay?”

“She’s fine. For now. Whether she stays that way depends on you.”

“Huh? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Really, Declan? I thought you were smarter than this. You’re sitting at an accident scene right now, aren’t you? And it’s Maggie’s car?”

“Yes. How did you know that?”

“I’m the one who ran her off the road.”

“Wait. Why would you do that?” Understanding dawned, even as he asked. Horror and dread were quick on its heels. “Dad. No. Why?”

“I’ll explain when I see you. I need you to meet me at the following coordinates.” He rattled them off. Declan repeated them in his head so he wouldn’t forget. “Don’t take too long to get here. I might think you’re not coming and decide to cut my losses.”

“I’ll be there. Just don’t hurt her. Please.”

“I’ll be waiting. And I don’t think I need to tell you not to share those coordinates, do I?”

The line went dead, and Declan stared at the phone for a moment before exploding into action. He opened the notepad app on his phone and wrote down the coordinates, then scrambled out of the truck.

How the hell was he going to get away from here? He couldn’t exactly take the firetruck. Not only would everyone notice, but it was equipped with GPS. As much as he wanted Seb to track Cole down, he feared it would happen before Declan could get Maggie to safety.

A quick glance around showed the only possibility was the man who found her car. Deck wasn’t about to leave, though, without leaving behind some breadcrumbs for Seb to follow.

“Sam!” Declan jogged over to Reeves, who stood guard near the car, waiting for the police to arrive. “I just got off the horn with Seb. He wants the witness to come to the station to give a statement. I’m useless to you here, so I’m going to ride back with him. I need to do something.”

“I get that. I hope you find her soon. We’ll be good here.”

“Thanks, man.” He started to walk away, then paused. “One more thing. I forgot to tell Seb earlier that I ran into Cole. He said to tell everyone hi. Can you relay that to the sheriff? I’m afraid I’ll forget again with everything going on.”

“Uh, sure.” Sam frowned, looking confused, but didn’t question him.

“Thanks. We all go back a long time.” He waved and jogged away, heading for the man in the truck. Declan motioned for him to roll the window down.

“What’s up?”

“The sheriff wants you to go into town and give your statement at the station.”

“Oh. Um, I guess I can do that. I’m not from around here, though. Can you tell me where it is?”

---