Page 39

CHAPTER 39

R aven sucked in a breath, unsure what had just happened.

One minute, she’d been looking at Jake.

Then he’d grabbed her. Pulled her into a room. Slammed the door.

An explosion rocked the world around them. Shook the walls.

Smoke filled the air, along with a blast of heat.

The building shuddered as if with pain.

However, it didn’t collapse.

They were safe, she realized.

But where were they?

As if reading her thoughts, a light popped on.

“You okay?” Jake held up his cell phone to see her.

She nodded. “Yes, thanks to you. I was trying to find you.”

“Someone left tracks on the floor, hoping we’d follow them here.”

His words only confirmed her theory. “Cassidy wasn’t the one who called and lured us out here. Someone used a deepfake to copy her voice.”

“What?” Outrage stretched through his voice. Then he ran a hand over his face and shook his head. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Someone wanted us to come out here so they could trap us.”

“Trap us? They weren’t trying to kill us?” That was what it seemed like to Raven, at least.

“I don’t think so. If these people wanted us dead, the bomb would have been larger and placed differently. This one was rigged to take out the support beam. It was just a large enough explosive to trap us in here.”

Raven’s eyes widened as she realized the truth of his words.

They were now trapped.

But for how long?

She glanced at Jake again. “You think that explosion was loud enough that someone will come?”

Jake pulled himself to his feet. Raven knew by his expression that it wasn’t good news.

“It’s hard to say,” he murmured. “This place is remote.”

She glanced around at the metal walls and old shelving. “Where are we?”

“An old walk-in freezer,” he muttered.

“What?”

He walked to the door and tugged it.

But it was either locked solid, or the debris outside blocked them in. Either way, he couldn’t get it open.

“We need to find a way out of here.” Raven rubbed her arms, suddenly chilled despite the moderate temperatures. “I don’t like this.”

“Hopefully someone will look for us soon,” he murmured. “Because, otherwise, we’re stuck in here.”

Jake wished Raven had never followed him. That she’d never tried to help.

Even worse, he must have dropped his gun when he’d grabbed Raven. Now he didn’t even have that.

His jaw tightened at the thought.

It was one thing if he was in this situation.

But it was a whole different story if she was in danger with him.

They’d both already felt all around the room, searching for a way out.

For a latch or some failsafe way to escape.

There were none.

They’d tried their cells.

The thick metal walls blocked any signal.

They were going to be stuck inside here a while.

Thankfully, the weather was temperate today, otherwise this place would be a sauna.

“How did you figure out it wasn’t Cassidy who called?” Jake turned to Raven as she paused in the center of the space.

“I called her, and she sounded clueless. She had no idea what I was talking about. Then the line went dead. That’s when I realized what had happened. I’ve heard about people using these deepfakes to pretend to be other people on the phone. I just never thought I’d come face-to-face—or ear to ear—with the scheme.”

He let out a disbelieving chuckle. “I wasn’t expecting that. Technology can be our best friend or our worst enemy.”

“You can say that again.” Raven turned toward him, concern on her face. “Will we run out of air in here?”

Jake had hoped she wouldn’t think about that. But he couldn’t lie to her either.

He needed to frame this in the best way possible.

He stared her in the eye as he said, “Someone will find us in time.”

Raven’s lips pulled into a tight line. “In other words, yes—the air supply in here is limited.”

Jake gave her a stiff, almost apologetic nod. “Yes, unfortunately, it is. I’m sorry, Raven. But we’ll get out of here. We have to.”