Page 115 of Her Wild Coast Refuge

I wish I could get a message to Zach. To tell him that it’s okay. I hate the idea of him running, hiding. What has him so scared?

“That’s too bad,” I say. “He would definitely know who this uncle person was.”

“We’ll work on it.”

Seth stands and gives me a reassuring nod. “Thanks for your help, Lexie.”

I rise, and Hunter escorts me out. Seth exits the conference room and strides down the hall in the opposite direction.

“Oh, I brought something to show you,” I say.

Hunter raises his eyebrows. “Let’s go to my desk.”

ChapterTwenty-Nine

LEXIE

Hunter leadsme to his desk in the bullpen. I pull out the envelope with the locket and set it on the desktop. “I was fixing this, and there’s something weird inside.”

Hunter gives me a look. “Such as?”

Being careful not to drop any of the pieces, I slide the locket from the envelope.

“What’s that?” Hunter asks, zeroing on the little black box in the hollow oval.

“Brian says it looks like a UDP chip. Like the innards of a flash drive.”

“And it was inside the locket? Behind the picture?”

I nod.

Hunter releases a slow sigh. “Did you touch it?”

I scoff. “I was fixing it, remember? Yes, I touched it.”

“Did you touch that?” He points at the box.

“Not with my fingers.”

“Okay.”

“Okay, what? What is it? What does it mean? Why is it there?”

Hunter slides a plastic baggie from one of his desk drawers. “I don’t know, Lex.” He glances at me. “Let me keep it for a while. I’ll take excellent care of it. I promise.”

I cross my arms. “Only if you tell me why.”

Hunter leans back in his chair, his dark eyes sizing me up for a long minute. “This thing was hidden in here for a reason.”

It’s cryptic, but I know he’s not going to say anything else.

“Okay. But promise you’ll tell me what you find.”

He rubs his chin. “I promise you’ll get it back.”

Typical.

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