Page 126 of Secrets & Lies

It seemed no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get it right to save my life. Was I doomed to stumble and fall short with her every fucking time? But his next words only intensified my concern.

“Well, now there’s more you’ll need to concern yourselves with,” he seethed.

“What do you mean?” I demanded.

“She got some fucked-up package that she insisted you sent her. I’ll send you the picture. I told her there was no way you’d send some shit like that. She got it in the mail. And she sounded off.”

Ivan’s head snapped to attention. He heard the edges of fear in Marcel’s voice clearly. And my own instincts told me there was cause for the concern. Marcel didn’t panic easily; he was the most stoic of us all, even better than Nik 99 percent of the time.

“I know you mentioned she was drinking tonight, but I’m hoping she didn’t mix that with pills.”

“Pills?” Nik raised his eyebrow at me.

With a sharp edge to my voice, I retorted, “You’d have that information if you weren’t insistent that we work tonight.”

Each word dripped with sarcasm. Fuck, this shit was messing with me all around. With a heavy sigh, I turned my attention back to Marcel.

“What was in the package?” I asked.

Before he could respond, a sudden eruption from Ivan filled the air.

“What in the actual fuck?” he bellowed before adding, “Marcus, reroute to Kinsley’s. Now.”

My brother’s voice barely contained the fury the image evoked. We were almost an hour from her at this point. Ivan shoved the phone in my face first and then in Nik’s.

My heart seized in my chest at the image on the screen. I caught the parts of the note that said “wait for me” and something about being there soon. The blood drained from my face.

“Goddamn it, can this night get any more fucked?” Nik exclaimed in frustration.Shit, what now?

“Nik, what is it?” Marcel asked, his voice laced with concern.

Nik leaned over and showed me the footage from Kinsley’s doorbell camera had gone dead.

“Marcel, we’re going to need to call you back.” Panic laced Nik’s voice.

The strange package and note, coupled with the realization that her Ring camera was not working, sent a chill coursing down my spine. What in the fuck was happening here?

“Okay, keep me posted. I have back-to-back patients, but I’ll take your call no matter what. I’m here for you.” Marcel could tell by the tone of Nik’s voice that something was very wrong.

Miles stretched out before us, and the precariousness of the situation ate at me. I pulled up her location on my phone and sighed. The tracker still placed her at home. Maybe she’d be okay until we got there.

Then my phone rang.

“Chief, what is it?” I asked into my phone.

Sirens, loud shouts, and utter chaos crackled through the line before his gruff voice asked, “Ms. Taylor lives in Woodinville, correct? Little house on a corner lot?”

“Yeah, Little Bear Creek. Why?”

Everything faded, my heart nearly stopping at his next words.No. No, it can’t be…

“Fuck!” I ended the call.

A heaviness and a sense of dread filled me to the point where I couldn’t breathe. Never ask the universe if things could get worse, because it always could.

A slow-moving tightness crept through my chest, and a lump formed in my throat. Words left my mouth, but they sounded detached and foreign, as if my mind couldn’t believe what he’d said.

“What?” Ivan asked, sounding confused.

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