“Something’s wrong,” Alicia answered. “What happened? Did you have a fight, or did something happen with the kids?”
“No, she…” He squeezed his eyes closed for a second as he pictured her just before she left. “She may have gotten a text. I assumed from you. She looked at her phone, gave Kyle his pain meds, and said she was going to check on you. But that was at least thirty minutes ago.”
Alicia shook her head and shrugged. “Why would she leave? Julia leaves when something upsets her.”
“Yeah, I noticed, but nothing upset her. She was fine. We were with Kyle and Sierra playing a game. It was fine. I…we need to find out where she is.”
“How?”
“Alex Stone is here. If anyone can track her phone, it’s him. Although… the last time we tried to track her phone, we couldn’t.” His feet were already moving to the south wing, though.
“I’m coming, too,” Alicia said, racing to catch up with him.
“Me, too,” Ethan added, snaking an arm around his wife’s shoulders.
Within a minute, Grant pounded on Alex’s door. The man tugged it open a few seconds later, clad in lobster-print pajamas. “G-Man, Dynamo, and Badge McGee? Wow, quite the welcoming committee.”
“Alex, I’m sorry to bother you, but we can’t find Julia.”
“Lost track of the leading lady?” He stepped back from the door and motioned for them to enter. “Please, step into my temporary lair.”
Grant’s forehead creased at the man’s odd personality as he stepped inside. “I don’t know if you can help or not. The last time we tried to track her phone it came up in some strange location.”
“Let me guess…Singapore?” Alex asked.
“Yes.” Grant narrowed his eyes at the man.
“Yeah, that’s because I’m running a blocker on her phone. No one’s going to track Sunshine’s location but yours truly. A man who can be trusted with her life.” He plopped into a chair and whipped open a laptop. “Give me two seconds, and I’ll tell you where your fair queen is.”
“You’re running a blocker?”
“Indeed,” he said as windows whipped around his screen and his fingers clacked against the keyboard. “With the crazed first First Lady, I didn’t want anyone to find her easily.”
Alex tapped at the keyboard, his eyes fixed on the screen. “You know, G, it’s not just about finding her, it’s about getting her safe.”
Grant clenched his jaw, the reminder of his past failures to keep his wife safe a sharp sting. “Just find her, Alex. Please.”
Alex finally met his gaze, his expression softening. "I'm on it. Nobody messes with our Julia. Not on my watch….Here we go…looks like little miss sunshine is at 538 Silvertree Lane.”
“538 Silvertree? Why would she be there?”
“Hmm, let us peruse the lovely Julia’s incoming calls and texts.” He pounded on the keyboard as Grant leaned over his shoulder.
Alex stopped, slowly sliding his eyes to Grant. “Do you mind?”
“Uh, I’m not going to steal your hacking skills.”
“As if you could. But I meant the messages. They may be private.”
“I’m her husband,” Grant argued.
“A man she chose not to share her current location with,” Alex answered. “Until I know why, I’d prefer to remain discreet.”
“Just look at the damn messages,” Alicia said.
“Okay, Dy, don’t get your knickers in a twist.”
Alex shifted the screen before he typed again. “Ah, here we go. Mystery solved. A restricted number told her she wouldn’t have the last laugh, sent a ridiculous bad deep fake of Ally Cat tied to a chair, and told her to come alone to 538 Silvertree or she’d never see her sister again.”
