Page 54 of Red Zone

“Yeah, she left right after dinner. Maybe she went to the lab? No, she wouldn’t take Lily.”

“Her phone’s going straight to voicemail. Where could she be?” Eileen’s voice stretched with fear and worry. “I can’t reach Tommy. He’s stuck in a meeting, and my car is in the shop.”

“Wait, you’re saying she didn’t make it home at all?”

“No, she didn’t. Let me check my app, see if I can find where she is.” She paused to work with her phone. When she spoke again, I could tell I was on speaker. “She’s on Elm Street, that’s a back road. Why would she have taken that?”

My gut twisted. That road was secluded—too secluded. “Can you send me her location? I’ll find them.” My heart pounded. “I promise, Eileen. I’ll find them both.”

I hung up and turned to Fiona, who was watching me, her expression mirroring my dread.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Skye and Lily never made it home.” I grabbed my keys off the counter, phone in hand.

Fiona’s face paled, but she didn’t hesitate. “I’m coming with you.”

She grabbed her coat as I relayed what little information I had.

“Liam,” Fiona said as she buckled into my truck, her mind clearly racing. “Skye’s been digging into the investigation. What if someone noticed? Maybe something she photographed…” She trailed off, frowning. “Do you know where she’d go if she were in trouble?”

The thought made my blood run cold. “I don’t know,” I admitted, closing my door. “If this is about the investigation and someone took her, they don’t know what they’ve started.” My grip on the wheel tightened, my knuckles white. “Whoever’s responsible will regret ever putting them in danger.” I would stop at nothing to bring Skye and Lily home safely. I finally had them in my life, and I would not lose them again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

SKYE

The world swam as I pried open my heavy eyelids, a dull pain radiating through my skull. The last thing I remembered was driving home from Liam’s. It was dark. There were headlights… It took a moment for the cloudiness to clear, and when it did, panic slammed into me like a freight train. My arms were pulled behind me, wrists bound painfully tight. A glance down revealed ropes cutting into my legs, holding me to a hard metal chair.

“Lily!” I rasped, my throat dry.

Her cries were high-pitched, desperate. I turned my head, my heart sinking. She was still strapped into her car seat, deposited a few feet away. Her little body trembled with sobs as she clutched her bunny tightly. Her red cheeks glistened with tears as she looked at me with wide, terrified eyes.

“It’s okay, baby,” I said, my voice hoarse. “Mommy’s here.”

“Well, isn’t that sweet?”

The voice sent a cold wave of dread down my spine. I twisted as much as I could, and there he was—Joe, pacing in the room like a caged animal. We were in the chemistry lab. I recognized the industrial counters, the shelves lined with neatly labeledchemicals. It was late, and no one else was around, or they would’ve heard Lily’s cries. That combined with the probability that he’d parked directly behind the building to enter near the lab killed any hope that someone would’ve seen him with a crying child and an unconscious woman.

“You just couldn’t leave it alone, could you, Skye?” Joe snapped, running his hands through his messy hair.

“Joe…” My voice wavered, but I forced myself to sound calm. “What are you doing? Why—why would you drive us off the road?”

“You.” He jabbed a finger in my direction. “You couldn’t just stick to your little TA duties and keep your nose out of things. No, you had to poke around. Asking questions. Taking pictures. God, you’re so predictable.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, don’t play dumb.” He grabbed a crowbar off the counter, gesturing wildly with it. “You think I don’t know about the research? About how you were sniffing around Megan’s project? How long until you connected the dots and figured out what I’ve been doing?”

“What have you been doing?” I asked, stalling for time. My mind raced as I glanced at Lily, praying for a way out.

Joe scoffed. “Untraceable performance-enhancement drugs. You know, the drug that’s making all those benchwarmers look like superstars? That’s me, Skye. My formula. And you were this close to blowing it all up. But that’s only part of it. I had plans. So many. Foxglove—my research.”

“But the performance-enhancing research was Megan’s.” I needed more information and time.

“Part of it was. While Megan researched the negative side effects of performance enhancers, I used her research to hone an undetectable formula for college athletes. But foxglove wasmy true claim to fame. The performance-enhancement stuff was just a side hustle.”

My mind spun as I worked to make the connection. The sudden improvements on the field, Jackson’s death. It all clicked together in a sickening puzzle. But I had no time to dwell. My eyes darted to Lily, her trembling hands clutching Bunny, and a fierce resolve took hold. I had to get her out of here—no matter what. “The football player who died?—”

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