Page 116 of Reclaimed

“It’s too bad, really.”A man’s voice comes across the line, his voice dripping with something sinister.

“What’s too bad?”

Isla.The anxiety in her sweet tone shreds me to pieces. A heavy silence stretches so long I stare at the phone as if I can see her through the glass.

“All those women. They’re entirely your fault.”

“What women, Henry?”

Henry. We have a name. I raise my head from the phone to find Silas, but he’s already jotting this information down.

“Those sluts I killed for looking just like you.”

“Why would you do that?”

“You should know better than to run from me. I had to teach you a lesson.”

“But I didn’t run from you—”

“Yes you fucking did!”His menacing snarl sends rage through my system.“Don’t you fucking lie to me!”

“I—I’m s-sorry.”Her unease pulses across the line like a palpable thing.

The man gives a satisfied-sounding hum.“That’s better.”

“What are you going to do with me?”

The line cuts out. I hold the back of my head in one hand while I wait for them to come back online.

“—killing you.”A sinister beat pulses across the airwaves.“You need to pay for what you did.”

My knees give out. They simply refuse to keep me standing. I crash against the asphalt but I don’t feel the pain. It’s impossible to register through the absolute agony coursing through my body like a poison.

I silently beg for her to say something, to respond, to let me know she’s still there, but the line remains quiet.

It takes me a moment to realize the screech of tires on pavement isn’t coming from the phone. A small Mazda whips into the parking lot, racing straight for us. The brakes halt the car fifteen feet away. The door flies open, and Juniper leaps out, maroon hair whipping around her face.

“What the fuck,” Lee growls, marching off in the direction of his wife.

“Aiden!” she screams, bypassing my irritated brother. “I know where she is!”

In two seconds flat I’m off my knees and by her side. She thrusts her phone beneath my nose. Sure enough, a little blue dot with Isla’s picture attached moves steadily across the screen down the interstate.

I look at her in shock. “How did you get this?”

“We met for lunch a few weeks ago at a new restaurant, and I got lost. We shared our locations to find each other and never turned them off,” she says in a rush. Her shoulders heave as she sucks in a fresh breath. “I just remembered.”

“This is amazing, Juniper. Can I take this?” Silas asks. “It’s faster and more accurate than pinging her from the cell towers.”

“Of course. Absolutely.” She writes down her passcode on his notepad and Silas takes off.

I crush her to me, enfolding her in such a tight hug I’m not sure either of us can breathe. But I don’t let go immediately, because her arms are equally tight.

“Thank you.” I kiss the top of her head.

She pulls back and wipes a falling tear from her eye. “We’re going to find her.”

I don’t know if she’s trying to convince me or herself. But our odds increased exponentially because of her. For that, I’m eternally grateful.

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