“That’s where she is?” Andy asked, a shred of hope in his tone.
Before anyone could respond, his phone chimed, the alert cutting through the room. He froze, staring down at the lit screen. “It’s the same number as the last call.”
The teen passed the phone to Brian, his hand shaking. At the same time, Sean’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “Got him. We were right about the apartment building.”
Brian looked at the text.
Unknown Caller:
U ready
He typed out one word and hit send.
Almost
Seconds later, the phone rang. Stepping closer to Andy, he spoke fast and low. “I’m putting it on speaker. When you answer, tell him you need a little more time—say you’re making sure you don’t get caught. Demand to talk to Tess. You won’t do anything until you know she’s okay.”
Andy nodded, his throat working as he dragged in a shallow breath.
Brian hit the answer button before the ringing stopped, switched the call to speaker, and held the phone near Andy’s mouth.
“H-hello?”
“What the hell is taking so long, Bing?” Diego’s voice came through low and even, with a calm that carried a threat all its own. “I thought you were some kind of tech genius. You messin’ with me?”
“N-no. I—I’m just making sure I don’t do anything that can be traced back to you—” His eyes widened and snapped to Brian, who nodded several times in encouragement.
“I mean—to me,” Andy rushed on. “I just need to be careful. Let me talk to my sister.”
“That’s not how this works,” Diego said flatly. “You talk to her after you do what you’re told.”
Andy squared his shoulders, the movement small but deliberate. His hands clenched at his sides, knuckles whitening. “No. I’m not doing anything until I know Tess is okay. Just—just let me hear her. Then I’ll do whatever you want.”
The silence that followed was heavy, deliberate.
Andy’s breath hitched. Fear crept back into his face as the seconds dragged on. He stabbed the mute button. “What happened?” His voice cracked. “What do I do?”
“You’re doing fine,” Brian said, steady and certain, before unmuting the phone again.
There was a brief scuffing sound—movement, fabric shifting—then a breath.
“A-Andy?”
At the sound of his sister’s voice, his shoulders sagged in relief. “Are you okay?”
She didn’t get the chance to answer.
“See?” Diego cut in. “She’s alive. For now.” He paused, letting the threat sink in. “I’m texting you the details. Get it done—or you get her back in pieces. You’ve got one hour, Bing.”
The line went dead.
Moments later, a text came through with the account details—numbers for both incoming and outgoing transfers—along with the rest of what Andy would need to do the job. It arrived too fast to have been anything but copied and pasted.
On the heels of that came another text.
Unknown Caller
Clock is ticking