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“What are we going to do?” Maddie asks, nervously smoothing back her ponytail.

The solution is simple. “We’re going to save our country.”

“Excuse me?” Her voice squeaks. “And how do you propose we do that?”

I shrug. “Some light espionage.”

“We aren’t agents!”

“We’re also notnotagents.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Someone’s gotta do it, Maddie.” I give her my best Superwoman pose. “And it’s going to be me.”

Chapter 12

Caleb

Ican’tbelievemydad is here, and he stole the freaking Framework.

I wish I had my badge right now to shove in front of a security guard and find out where my dad went. But I don’t. I don’t even have my personal phone. I called Maddie with the one in the lobby while the receptionist was busy. Serena is in the air, and I can’t risk communicating with her again until she reaches out to me with another burner.

I have one option. And it physically pains me to do this, but there’s literally no other choice.

I pull out my phone and dial the number of the person I despise most in this world.

It rings three times before he answers. “Hello?”

“Hawthorne,” I grunt in greeting. “I need your help.”

“Just to be clear, this is Agent Harris, the man that swore he’d kill me once upon a time, asking for my help?”

“I still want to kill you.”

Liam chuckles and it’s the most annoying, grating sound on the planet. “Well, well, well, what can I do for you, Harris? Unless you called to check in on my house arrest? In that case, I’ve got some complaints.”

“I couldn’t care less about you.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to play nice, since you clearly need something from me.”

I grit my teeth. He’s right. “I need you to locate someone you’ve found before.”

“Well, that list is simply too long. I’m going to need a name, and some juicy gossip as payment. I'msobored.”

I'm not in the mood for his games. “Find my father,” I grit out. There’s a short silence before I fill it. “You know, the man you helped my girlfriend find behind my back.”

Liam grunts. “Keep your guns holstered, Agent. I was helping her with the quest you set her on.”

“I didn’t want her to find my father!” I all but yell, then silence myself as guests around the lobby look curiously at me.

“Then you should have been more clear.” I growl and he continues. “Testy. Okay, where was he last seen?”

I rattle off the details and tap my hand on my thigh while I wait.

“He went to the parking garage.” The words are barely out of his mouth before I take off running.

“He got in a car?”