“I know,” Nash said quietly.
My fingers twitched. The urge to pick up my phone and call her just to make sure she was okay was strong.
“We either have a copycat, or he’s back.” I tried to keep my voice calm as I spoke, but my throat strangled the words.
“What does the FBI say?” Nash asked.
My jaw clenched. “That they’re looking over the files I sent.”
“Bureaucrats,” he muttered. “What about Anson?”
“He hung up on me the second I mentioned a case.”
Nash leaned back against the conference table. “What the hell is his deal? People are dying, and all you wanted was a little insight.”
I shook my head as I scrubbed a hand over the stubble on my jaw. “It’s not that simple. Not for him. He’s been through too much.”
Nash blew out a breath. “That was an asshole thing for me to say. I know he lost a lot. I just—you’ve told me how good he is. We need that kind of brain.”
I knew we did. And the fact that it was within reach but not accessible stung. I didn’t know a person on this Earth who was smarter than Anson. His mind worked differently than the rest of ours. He saw connections that were out of my reach.
But he’d lived in dark places for a long time. And, eventually, the darkness bit back. No, it more than bit. It shredded.
“I’ll call the FBI again.” I was sure they had other geniuses at their disposal. I just needed them to lend me one.
My cell phone rang on the conference table, and I swiped it up. Hallie’s name flashed on the screen. My heart rate did a stutter step, the beats almost seeming to trip over themselves. A mixture of anticipation and worry filled me.
“Hey. Everything all—?”
Luke’s voice cut me off. “Dad? Something happened.”
My blood turned to ice at his words.
“Hallie’s freaking out. I think she’s having a panic attack. We’re by the deli. There was a note on the SUV, but it’s just a strange drawing. She’s shaking and breathing weird.”
I was already moving. Running. Nash was on my heels.
“I’m on my way. Stick close to her.”
“I won’t leave her,” Luke said, but his voice trembled. “She’s real scared.”
I let a curse fly as my feet pounded the pavement. Two blocks. They were only two blocks away. But what could happen in that length of time? Anything.
Someone could be watching. Waiting.
I pushed my muscles harder, my lungs burning.
The first glimpse of them should’ve brought relief, but it didn’t. Hallie was huddled on the curb. I could see her body trembling from twenty feet away. Luke was close, standing guard, and he held a white piece of paper in his hand.
I crouched in front of Hallie, my hands wrapping around her calves. “Hallie. Look at me.”
Her eyes had gone completely vacant as if she weren’t even present, and her breaths came in quick pants. Her fingers were curled so tightly in on themselves it looked painful.
“Hallie, one thing at a time. What do you see?”
Her hands squeezed tighter.
I took one between mine and gently forced the fingers to unknot. “What do you see?”
