Page 79 of Raven's Curse

Chase zoomed in on the man’s face. Froze. Chest squeezed tight, heart vibrating uselessly against his ribs. “Is that Royce Carver?”

Nick huffed. “I wasn’t sure with the obvious burn marks and scarring, but… He looks older. Frayed.”

“Why the hell are we just seeing this now?”

“Because we’d focused on Hodges. On tracking his movements until one of my guys came across this.” Nick blew out a rough breath. “It’s from nearly a year ago.”

Chase fisted his hand at his side, stilling the urge to punch a hole in the wall. “So, this means what? It’s not over. Hodges wasn’t acting alone?”

“It means we need to track down Greer and get her ass somewhere safe while I mobilize a team. This isn’t just about you and your buddies anymore. After all that shit you told me Hodges ranted about, this is a threat to national security.” He paused, something tapping in the background. “I’m on the next flight out. I’ll be there in six hours.”

“If she’s not answering her phone, I doubt she has that long.” He held the cell off to the side. “Foster, fire up the chopper. Zain, get Bodie to text us Buck’s location. We’ll check with Shirley but…”

Another ping, Greer’s name showing at the top of his cell.

Chase inhaled. “Greer just texted.”

He switched to her thread, opened the text.

Nick practically growled into the phone. “What the hell does it say?”

“Nothing, it’s coordinates. Foster…”

Foster glanced at the numbers, then punched them into his phone. “It’s thirty miles south of here. Near that decommissioned water treatment facility. The exact point’s in a river just up from the coast. Some kind of old trestle bridge.”

Kash frowned. “Why would she send us that?”

“She wouldn’t.” Chase swallowed the rush of panic, shoving it all down until nothing remained but cold determination. “It’s Carver.”

Zain covered his phone for a second. “Bodie says she hasn’t checked-in since she headed off to Buck’s. He’s sent the location, but…”

“She’s not there. He has her. Nick? I’m gonna have to call you back.”

Chase ended the call, then hit Greer’s number, heart in his throat, sweat slicking his palms. He clenched his jaw, counting the rings before the line picked up, nothing but heavy breathing on the other end. “What do you want?”

No response.

Chase grunted. “Damn it, Royce, I know it’s you. So, stop fucking around and tell me what the hell you want, because this is obviously some kind of game to you, and I can’t play along if I don’t know the rules.”

Silence, then a low, grating laugh. His phone rang, the incoming video call from Greer’s cell.

Chase switched over, breath held, anger burning beneath his skin as the screen flickered, Royce’s face filling the frame.

The guy grinned. “I have to hand it to you, Remington. I thought you’d need a few more clues to figure it out.”

“Where’s Greer?”

“She’s with me. She’s fine…” He grimaced a bit. “Well, mostly fine. She’s alive.”

“Show me.”

“You’re getting ahead of the play.”

“I don’t care. Either show me she’s still breathing, or this becomes a hunt.”

“It always was, but…”

The screen flipped, the sight dropping his stomach. He’d tied her to a chair, head bowed forward, her auburn hair sticking up in every direction. Blood stained her right shoulder, more splattered across her shirt. Gunshot wound, though, he couldn’t tell how bad. If it’d gone right through or ricocheted somewhere far more deadly.