Page 95 of Bravo

My door opens, and Elliot races in, Tucker at his side.

“What happened? Where is she?”

I hold out the crumpled note, too shaken to read it aloud or even speak the words.

“Did she take the thumb drive?” Tucker asks. “Did you find it anywhere?”

I shake my head. “She would’ve taken it with her.”

Tucker pales slightly, his eyes going wide. “Then we have another problem.”

“What is it?”

He hesitates a moment. “I switched the drives.”

“You didwhat?”I growl, taking a step toward him. I love my brother, but right now, I want to level him where he stands. “If she doesn’t come with the right drive, he’s going to kill her!”

“He’s going to kill her anyway,” Elliot tells me, stepping up toward Tucker. “You have to breathe, Bradyn. This isn’t the first time a plan has gone awry.”

“Kennedy is gone.Gone.And we may not even have time to find her.”

“Think about it,” Elliot says. “He’s going to want to know where the drive is, right?”

I consider, hating what that would mean for Kennedy. If he’s trying to get information out of her—I shiver. I can’t think about that now. All I can do is focus on the task at hand—which is tracking her down, wherever he may have taken her.

I turn to Tucker. “Find out where those drones came from.”

“On it.” He turns and sprints out of the house.

Elliot remains where he is. “You’re in love with her.”

I can’t even deny it, not that I would. “I am. And I’m not even entirely sure how it happened so fast.” I can barely breathe as my mind is flooded with horrific imagery of things that could be happening to her right now.

Of things that could happen soon.

What if I’m too late?

Elliot puts his hand on my shoulder. “God, we ask that You watch over Kennedy. Please guide us so that we can get to her and bring her back safely. I ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.”

“Amen.” I can barely get the word out, but after a few moments of silence, I’m breathing easier. “As soon as Tucker has an address for those drones, we’re rolling out. Call Jesper and have him on deck, ready to go.”

“You think they left the state?” he asks at the mention of the private pilot we hire for jobs where discretion is of the essence.

“I think it’s more than likely they’re headed back to where this all started.”

“California,” he says.

“Exactly.”

“Drones are a dead end.”

Frustration ebbs at my frayed nerves. “You couldn’t find an address?”

“Nope. They’re unregistered. The only thing I can tell you is that they were scoping us out for a while. Flying just above our radar and only ever at night.” Tucker turns his tablet to show us shaky footage of the drone flying over the ranch.

“Spying on us. Learning our routines.” Dylan shakes his head furiously.

“The explosion was a distraction,” I say. “He knew that he had to get low enough to drop the phone off safely, and we’d catch him on the security footage if he did.”

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