Page 23 of Point Blank

She pressed her fingers to her temples. “If it’s not someone from the Alban heist, it has to be someone from the heist she wanted me to work.”

Ring, ring

A call came in on Bluetooth, and a phone number Serena didn’t recognize lit the screen on the dash.

“It’s Rhett.”

Hope made her straighten. The seatbelt tightened across her chest.

Milo moved his finger over a button on the steering wheel. “Rhett, what do you have?”

“Not good news. Her phone can’t be traced. They must have damaged it.”

Tears prickled her eyes. She propped her elbows on her knees and dropped her head into her hands. God, she was a sitting duck. Every second that ticked by, Dani was closer to being dead—and she was probably being beaten in the meantime. What did they want? Why hadn’t they called?

Milo told Rhett about the dead body in Dani’s apartment, and he was still on the phone as he pulled the SUV into his garage. He cut the engine. Serena unbuckled her seatbelt.

“I need you to consider involving the police, Milo,” Rhett said, his voice heavy through the speakers. “This could get ugly really fast. The last thing you want is to have to involve the police later, when it’s already too late. For now, there’s a good chance she’s still alive, since they want something from you.”

Serena’s stomach pitched, and she closed her eyes on a breath. They had to get to Dani . . .

Milo promised they would talk about it and disconnected. She pushed open the passenger door and got out before he could reach for her. She needed to move, to collect her scattered thoughts, to?—

“Serena.” Milo’s raw, gentle voice burst the bubble around her. She spun around, nearly colliding with the lawn mower. His hands caught her elbows.

“Honey, I’m so sorry.”

She dropped her head to his chest and the dam that had been holding back her tears for the last couple of hours burst. The brush of his lips on her hair and the steady coast of his hands down her back made her muscles turn to mush.

“Milo, I’m so scared.”

He held her tighter. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”

Ring, ring, ring

She yanked her head away from the cushion of his chest and pulled her phone from the pocket of her sweater. The phone shook so much in her trembling hands that she couldn’t read the number.

“It has to be them.”

“Answer it.”

She sucked in her breath, swiped her thumb across the screen, and pressed the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“Hello, Serena,” said a deep, slightly muffled voice. “I need you to add this number to your contacts and then switch to FaceTime. I have someone who wants to see you.”

Sweat dampened her palms, and her gaze lifted to Milo’s. He gave one solid nod. She swallowed and lowered the phone to do as instructed. A few seconds later, a ski-mask-covered face filled the screen.

“Hello, Serena,” he said again.

“Where’s Dani?” The words rushed out of her and her heart stalled. She scanned the background behind the caller. He stood in a dimly lit room. Only a wood-paneled wall served as a backdrop.

The man’s gaze shifted beyond the phone he held and then back to her. “She’s a little tied up right now. Don’t worry, I’ll prove she’s intact in a minute.”

Serena dug her fingertips into the sides of her phone. Intact? What kind of sicko talked like that?

“I know you’re not alone. I want to see both you and your boyfriend.”

She didn’t bother telling him that she and Milo weren’t in a relationship—that was the furthest thing from important right now. Milo moved behind her, and she tilted the screen to capture his face.