ACE
My phone rang at 6 AM, just as I was checking out of the motel where I'd managed to get two hours of restless sleep.
"Marcus?"
"I found her."
My heart stopped. "Where?"
"Not where—how. I tracked down Alessa Mike. Turns out she's got a sister in Phoenix who runs a women's shelter. Anonymous referrals, no questions asked, completely off the grid."
Phoenix. A thousand miles away from Denver, from James, from the life that had nearly killed her.
"Are you sure?"
"As sure as I can be without actually seeing her. The timeline fits. Alessa made a call to her sister the same morning Lily disappeared from the hospital. Her sister confirmed she received a 'referral' but wouldn't give any details."
Relief flooded through me, so intense it made my knees weak. She was safe. Lily was safe.
