Chapter 85

Derek’s voice filled the room. “Gideon? You need to call me.”

The next message.

“Gideon? Look, call me as soon as you get this.”

The third message.

“Gideon, goddammit, where are you? Call me.”

Jesse didn’t wait for the fourth message. He dialed Derek’s number from memory, the tension in his neck growing as he counted the rings.

Traffic blasted through the line before Derek’s voice cut in. “Gideon? You son of a bitch, where the hell have you been?”

“It’s not Gideon,” Jesse said softly. “And as for where he’s been…it’s a very long story.”

Derek’s sharp breath eclipsed a car’s horn, and the noise in the background grew distinctly muffled as Derek must have stepped someplace more private. “Jesse?” His tentative query lacked the venom of Derek’s initial greeting. “Oh, my God, where are you? Are you all right?”

“We’re home now. I’m fine, more or less. I’ll fill you in later. What’s going on? Your messages sounded frantic.”