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“We don’t know,” Kiko said. Her voice sounded defeated to her own ears. “We just got here, and the room looked exactly like this.”

Miri turned to look at her, her blue-green eyes wide. “Did you see Aura?”

Kiko bit her lip, and shook her head. “No, doc. No one.”

“Kiks,” a voice barked from the door.

She looked over and caught Black’s stare where she found him standing next to Jax. When he saw her looking, he jerked his jaw, indicating he wanted to talk to her. She exhaled as she climbed to her feet and straightened, pausing only to lay a comforting hand on the doc’s back.

She walked over to Black, Jax, and Dexter, blew her bangs that needed a trim out of her face, and glanced at Jax’s dark purple eyes.

He was watching her closely, concern in his handsome, angular face.

Jesus. He grew hotter to her almost daily. What was up with that? And why was she thinking about that now, in the middle of this mess?

A slow grin grew over his face, despite the worry in his eyes.

She aimed a warning finger at his face.

“Stop eavesdropping,” she retorted.

Black ignored both things, Jax’s smile and her words.

He was speaking to Dexter and Rafe, who Kiko hadn’t seen at first, standing next to Dex. “I want the building locked down,” Kiko heard him say. “Get someone on the security recordings right away. There’s no cameras in here, but check every exit and entrance, starting with the elevators. Check the time signatures, too. I’m thinking now he might have fucked with the surveillance records. We’re probably too late, but if she fought back, there’s some chance he hasn’t made it out of the building yet. He could be in the parking garage, or even the lobby.”

“Got it,” Dex said, touching his ear.

Black’s eyes shifted to Kiko.

“Did you see anything? On infrared?” Kiko shook her head, and Black looked at Jax. “Any Barrier imprints? Any sign he’d been here within the last few minutes?”

Jax shook his head, his jaw a touch hard. “There was nothing by the time we went in. We got nothing on the scanners. I didn’t feel him at all. Not just in here, but anywhere inside the construct. Which is weird as fuck…”

“Not really,” Black muttered darkly. “This isJemwe’re talking about.”

Kiko felt a shiver of unease at how he said it.

She cleared her throat, then did her best to make her voice businesslike.

“Now what?” She glanced at Jax before gazing up at Black. “Do you really think he got out of the building with her, boss? With no one seeing him? Meaning no offense, but how the fuck is that possible, even for him?”

Black frowned.

He looked at her, then at Jax.

His jaw slowly hardened.

“It’s not,” he growled.

He turned to Rafe and Dex, who were still talking out in the hall. “I want every single member of the team accounted for,” he growled. “Dexter? Are you hearing me? I want to know if anyone else is missing. As soon as possible.”

Black seemed to decide that would take too long, even as he said it. He touched his ear. He switched the coms to the public channel, so everyone in the building would hear what he said next, something he hadn’t done since the war ended.

“Roll-call,” he growled. “Now. I want every person who should be in this building to call in. I want someone to be checking every name against a list as they do it. We need to know if anyone else is missing beside Dalejem and the girl.”

“I’ve got the list,” Dex affirmed.

Names started coming through on the channel., soft so that other conversations could still take place around it. Kiko heard everyone she expected to hear. She tried to remember how many of them were working here today, but hadn’t worked it out until everyone had called in and the line had grown quiet once more.