“Phoenix. Or maybe it’s Madison. I get the two confused.”

“Enough with the smart-ass routine. Where are you?”

“Somewhere safe. Somewhere you and your monsters will never find me.”

He clutched the plastic so hard it creaked in his grip. Anger pumped through him along with something else—something needy and desperate and afraid. “Where are you, honey? I need to come find you.”

“No.” The word wasn’t as forceful as she’d probably meant it to be.

“Please, Lexi. I need you.” His voice was so full of pleading that Drake looked at him funny, but he didn’t give a shit. He was beyond pride.

“No. You’re trying to trick me again. It won’t happen. And I swear to God that if you harm a hair on Helen’s head, I’ll hunt you down myself and choke you with your own balls.”

“We’d never hurt Helen. She’s one of us now.”

A choking sob filled the line. “Oh, God. What have you done to her?”

“We’ve given her a home. A family. We protect her and keep her safe. And we want to do the same for you, honey.”

“Liar! Mom said you all lied as well as Satan himself. Now I know she was right. About all of it.”

“I don’t know what she told you, but none of us would ever hurt you. Just let me meet you. Talk to you.”

“You’ll try to abduct me again.”

“I won’t,” he lied.

Another soft sob filtered through their connection, breaking his heart. She was in pain. Suffering. Tired. Everything inside him screamed for him to go to her, but he didn’t know where to go. “Please, Lexi. Give me a chance. I want to help you.”

“I wish that were true, Zach. God, do I wish that were true. I’m in so much trouble. I—”

There was a loud banging sound on her end of the line. Panic raced through Zach, making him reach for his sword. “Lexi? What’s going on?”

She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I gotta go. They’re here.”

“Who is there? And where the fuck are you?”

“Not who. What. The monsters have found me again.”

Monsters? She meant Synestryn.

Another loud boom filled the line.

Zach raced out of the suite toward the garage. “Lexi. Tell me where you are. I’m coming to help.”

“You already know where I am. You sent them.”

His heart was pounding so hard, he could barely speak. “No, honey. I didn’t. Where are you?”

She hesitated. Another loud boom was followed by a crashing sound, like glass breaking. “Texas,” she whispered. “Denton, Texas.”

The line went dead.

“Lexi!” screamed Zach into the phone, but it did no good. She was already gone.

He heard Drake’s heavy steps behind him as he raced out of the suite and down the hall, but he didn’t slow. He jumped into his SUV and screeched out of the compound garage, down the long driveway. If the gate wasn’t open by the time he got there, he was going to blow through it.