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I’d seen her file open on his desk many times before.

“Her sister does podcasts,” he continued. “Her reporter name is Jamie Brand, but her actual name is Daveigh Brand. She does murder podcasts that are apparently really damn popular.”

I felt something warm drip onto my hand.

I didn’t move, too afraid that I was dreaming. That I was making this whole thing up.

Black kept talking, whispering to me as he urged me to wake up.

I didn’t dare.

Couldn’t.

“Brother.”

Another new man had arrived.

“Hey, Elesio,” Black murmured. “What’s up?”

“With your girl down in the ER. You heard about your ex-wife?”

“I did,” Black grumbled. “Is Shelby okay?”

“She’s making it,” Elesio said. “But that’s not why I’m here.”

“No?” Black sounded tired.

“The men found something in that fire.”

“What?” Black sounded sick.

“The cabin that Leo shared with those two boys he got to help him with…”

“Kidnapping my future?”

“Yeah,” Elesio said. “There was something underneath the floor. When it was bulldozed…”

“Fuck me,” Black said. “What?”

“There was a fucking underground bunker,” he said. “Looked crazy crude. Like it was dug by hand. But that underground area held something…a shack in the woods.”

That had me so intrigued that I almost opened my eyes.

Almost.

But the fear was still all too consuming.

“Who was in the bunker, Elesio?” Black sounded so bad.

My fingers twitched.

Black’s hand squeezed mine.

“A woman,” he said. “Named Blanche…”

“Blanche Brand,” Black choked out. “You found Blanche Brand?”

“They did,” he said. “She is…man. She’s fucked up. She’s been in captivity for a year. She said until about a month ago, someone always brought her food and water. Took her into town to buy food. Clothing. Things like that. But then that stopped abruptly, and she had to live off the dried food that he left with her in a box because he’d locked her in and took away the key. She had water that came from a faucet, but her food was almost gone.”