Page 126 of Dual

She stands up, and I get a better view of the carnage she’s wearing. Her shirt is soaked through with blood, and there are dark stains on the walls behind her that I don’t want to identify.

“Where are you?” I ask again, though I know she won’t tell me.

“Somewhere safe,” she says vaguely. “For now. But we’ll be moving soon. We always keep moving.”

“For how long?”

Red shrugs. “Until it’s finished. Until everyone who mighthurt you is dead.” She says it so casually, like she’s discussing grocery shopping.

“You can’t just kill everyone who might be a threat,” I say desperately. “There are too many?—”

“Are there?” Red tilts her head thoughtfully. “I’ve always found that most people are cowards at heart. Remove a few key pieces, and the rest scatter like roaches when the lights come on.”

She moves closer to the camera again, and I can see my reflection in her eyes—small, distant, helpless.

“Don’t look for us, Donny,” she says softly. “Don’t try to find us. Don’t try to save us. We’re beyond saving now.”

“No,” I say firmly. “I don’t accept that. I won’t accept that.”

Red smiles one last time, sad and terrible and beautiful. “You don’t have a choice. None of us do anymore.”

Her finger hovers over the screen, about to end the call.

“Wait!” I shout. “I found your safehouse. The hidden server room you’ve been hiding this whole time. Whatever you’re doing, you’ll need me. Let me be your eyes and ears.” I’m talking fast, but I see the hesitation on Red’s face that’s stopped her from hanging up, so I keep going. “You need me. I have connections. I can access satellite imagery. You know I’m good on the dark web. Whatever you need, I can get you.”

Red bites her bottom lip—exactly like Anna does when she’s considering something.

Then the screen goes black.

“Fuck!” I slam my thumb against the callback button, butit just rings and rings, each tone another nail in the coffin of my composure. After the tenth ring, it goes to a generic voicemail message.

I try again. And again. Nothing.

“Sir?” Carlos approaches cautiously, probably recognizing the look of a man about to lose his shit completely.

I ignore him, staring at the black screen for a long moment, my hands shaking with fury and helplessness and grief. Then I hurl the phone across the room, watching it shatter against the wall.

But even as the pieces scatter across the floor, I’m already reaching for my laptop, fingers flying over the keys as I start tracing the call, mapping connections, following digital breadcrumbs.

She thinks she’s protecting me by keeping me in the dark.

She’s wrong.

I’ve been playing defense for too long, reacting instead of acting, letting fear make my decisions for me. But not anymore.

We were always playing chess, weren’t we? And she’s been a step ahead of me the entire time.

If Red wants to clear the board, fine. But this time, I won’t stop until I find her. Until I bring her home. Until I prove that whatever she thinks she needs to do alone, we can do together.

THIRTY-NINE

July

ANNA

I’mweak and give in. I call Domhnall again, setting the phone up in the shower as I wash off all the blood from yet another mission. Always so much blood when Red is in control.

But at least I’m getting a stretch at the helm. Red can’t keep us back all the time, though she certainly wants to.