Chapter 53

“You have balls of steel,” she said before Jarrett’s hello was barely out there. “Yager’s hopping about the picture switch.”

“Did it help?”

“Who are you asking for? You, or him, or Locke?”

“Anybody. Tell me he at least acted on it.”

“He did. He ran it through some facial recognition program the Feds have.”

“And?”

“Where are you, Jarrett?”

Her sudden shift in topic—as well as her clear avoidance of the question—tensed both Jarrett and Eli. They looked at each other, and in that moment of silence, Eli’s stomach dropped.

“Sandora contacted Eli.” Jarrett’s voice revealed none of their newfound fear. Eli wished he could take real comfort in his calm tones. “He’s got his parents.”

A stream of curses flooded the van, the distant click of heels on a hard floor accompanying them. “I’m getting Yager,” she barked.

“No,” Jarrett said quickly. “He’ll just arrest Eli. And we need his help.”

“Damn straight you need his help. Do you have any idea how serious all this is?”