Kellan's POV
The clock on my desk was churning on with no end in sight, each second rubbing across my nerves like sandpaper. Before me lay a montage of notes and photos that Thomas had put together, pieces of a jigsaw that I just couldn't seem to work out fast enough. Amanda was trapped with Carl and I was running out of time. It's like every day was another person striking a dagger right through my chest. That was because knowing it and yet being helpless over it drove me crazy over time.
I leaned back in my chair, scrubbing my hands down my face. The last time he'd seen her, her smile had been warm, radiant-a light in the middle of the chaos I'd called my life. Now, all I could think about was the fear in her eyes, the possibility that she'd lost that light because of him.
It whirred crystal clear on my desk. In an instant, it had reached my ears, and I could hear my heart start to whoop. It was Thomas.