Page 55 of Red Zone

“That wasn’t supposed to happen!” Joe shouted, his voice cracking. “I didn’t know he had any of the performance-enhancement stuff left. When I found out he had a heart condition, I switched out the product. The idiot took too much. He must have used both the performance enhancer and my foxglove treatment at once. If he’d only taken the new sample I’d given him, he would’ve been fine, possibly even healed. I didn’t mean for it to happen. But I won’t let you ruin me over it.”

I stared at him, horrified.Human trials.The unethical reality of what Joe had done slammed into me like a punch. “So, what’s the plan, Joe? You think you can just… what? Get away with this? With taking me and my daughter hostage?”

His eyes darted to the gallon of acid on the counter, and I swallowed hard.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Joe’s voice hitched, and for a moment, he looked less like the man with a crowbar and more like the friend I thought I knew. “This is my chance. My one shot to matter, to be someone. To change medical history with my formula containing digoxin extracted from foxglove. It would cure atrial fibrillation, something Jackson had. And you—you just had to ruin it by getting involved and telling the police.”

“Joe, listen to me. Lily’s a little girl. Let her go. She doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

Joe hesitated, his grip tightening on the crowbar. His eyes flickered with something—guilt?—but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.

He shook his head. “Too late for that.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

LIAM

The soft glow of the streetlight cut through the darkness on the sideroad, illuminating the outline of a car that looked like Skye’s in the ditch. My heart beat against my ribs as I pulled onto the side of the road. Gravel crunched under my tires as I stopped the truck abruptly, my chest tightening at the sight of Skye’s car.

The front end was crumpled. From what I could see, the car was empty. No Skye. No Lily.

“Damn it,” I cursed, throwing my truck into park. Before I could move, Fiona’s hand shot out, her voice sharp.

“Wait.” Her gaze locked on mine. “Stay calm. Don’t touch anything. If they’re not here, this is bigger than a crash.”

I hesitated, my hand gripping the door handle. “Fiona, Lily could be in danger. We don’t have time for?—”

“We make time,” she interrupted, her tone firm but steady. “If this is connected to what Skye told me earlier, then we need to handle this carefully. Let me assess the scene first.”

She got out, her movements precise as she pulled on gloves from her coat pocket. I followed, my chest burning with barely restrained panic.

Fiona crouched near the car, her flashlight cutting through the shadows. Her trained eyes scanned the area while I fought the urge to run straight into the woods lining the side of the road and shout their names. She pulled out her phone, called the station, and reported the accident.

A familiar Jeep pulled up behind my truck, and Maverick jumped out, his expression as grim as I felt. “Where is she?”

Eileen must’ve called him. It made sense that he would show up. “Not here.”

Maverick’s jaw clenched as he surveyed the wreckage. “Where’s the ambulance? If they were injured?—”

“There wasn’t one,” Fiona interjected, rising to her feet. “The scene is off. The driver’s door is open, the car seat missing, and in addition to the damage on the front of the vehicle, there are tire marks on the road. Whoever was here likely caused the accident and left on their own. The girls might have been taken.”

My stomach churned at her words, and I glanced toward the car.

“Damn it,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair.

Fiona straightened, her voice sharp as she stepped toward us. “Skye called me before your last game and told me she saw Joe handing a football player something suspicious—a plastic bag—at the science building. She said it didn’t look right. Do either of you know anything about that?”

I shook my head. “She didn’t tell me anything about Joe after the game.”

“Me either.” Mav frowned.

Fiona’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I haven’t managed to take Joe in for questioning. He was due to come to the station tomorrow. His involvement changes things, and the scheduled interview would have added another level of panic. If Skye saw him hand off drugs or something illegal, she might have become a liability to him.”

“And if she called him out on it…” Maverick trailed off, his face darkening.

“That gives him motive,” Fiona finished. She pulled out her phone and started dialing.

“I reported Skye and Lily missing from the scene, but I need to flag Joe as a person of interest.” Fiona moved a few steps away as she placed the call.

---