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“I don’t see any other footage of him. I’ll watch the cams at the exit to see if I can find what he’s driving. Give me a minute.” I don’t have a minute. The longer the Framework is in the wind, the more dangerous it becomes.

“Gray Toyota Tacoma,” Liam says. “Not my vehicle of choice but to each their own, I guess.”

“He’s in that truck?” I ask.

“The camera is crap, but I think so. The driver fit his description.”

“License plate?”

“I’ll do you one better. It’s a rental. Catch a cab, Harris. I’ll lead you right to him.”

Chapter 13

Amelia

“Walkfaster,”Maddiemuttersas we trek through the casino toward the parking garage on the heels of the police officer Caleb sent to protect us.

“You walk slower! Your legs are freakishly long,” I retort.

“I can’t help it if I have better genes than you.”

“You do realize your children might get these exact genes,” I mutter.

“What children? I’m never going to have children because we aren’t going to make it out of here!” She’s hyperventilating. I get it. This is her first brush with danger and it’s scary. I should be considerate.

I snatch her arm. “Pull it together, woman!” Or I can be rude as well. “I need your lawyer confidence to sell this!”

“I coach high school volleyball, Millie. I can’t pretend to be someone I’m not.”

“It’s a lot easier than you think.”

Maddie’s eyes dart around as if looking for hitmen to come after us. I’m sure they haven’t found us yet, but it’s really only a matter of time, which is why we will be safer on the move.

“Let’s just get out of here and then maybe I can breathe again,” Maddie says.

I nod, and we match each other’s pace to the garage. Once there, I realize I’ve forgotten where I parked my car, so I sound the alarm. Maddie nearly jumps through the roof when the car right next to us beeps.

She glares at me before opening the trunk and shoving her bag inside. “I need to call Connor.”

“Let’s not make any rash decisions!” I grab her hand after she shuts the trunk.

“We’re going to die!”

The police officer with us raises a brow but looks unconcerned. Everyone is so dramatic these days. What would happen if we were actually dying? No one would react. “You ladies good?” he asks.

I nod. “Thank you, officer. You can go rescue some other damsels in distress now.”

He chuckles and steps back and folds his arms, content to watch us drive away. I’m sure Caleb gave him strict instructions on that part.

“We are going to be fine,” I insist to Maddie, nudging her to the passenger side. She reluctantly gets inside, and I take a deep breath. It’s exhausting trying to convince someone they aren’t going to die.

“But what are we going to do?” Maddie asks as I put the car in reverse.

I check my blind spots and pull out slowly. “I’ll call Liam. He’ll know.” I put the car in drive and wave to the officer as we leave the parking garage.

“I have a better idea. How about he hops on a plane and fixes this mess for us?” Maddie says, an edge to her voice that makes her sound a bit psychotic.

I put on my blinker and take a right. “He’s under house arrest. Do you want the poor man to be stuck there forever?”