“I’m stepping outside to make those calls.” He cocked his head toward the door. “I’m not calling 9-1-1. Not yet. But I am calling my partner and my brother. I can’t do this alone and need their help to get to the bottom of this mess and find your sister.”
Andy looked up, hope and fear knotted together in his expression. “That’s not... the same thing? You said your brother’s an FBI agent. That’s gotta be worse than the police.”
“It’s not. There’s no alert, no patrol cars swarming in. I’m making two calls to people I trust, and that’s it—unless Diego does something stupid. Well, even more stupid than taking Tess. All right?”
He received a slow nod in response.
“Stay inside,” he ordered. “Keep your phone on you. If Diego calls or texts, I need to know immediately. You answer like nothing’s changed. Tell him you’re still trying to figure out how to do whatever it is without getting caught—in other words, stall. You got it?”
“Yeah,” Andy whispered. “Brian? I’m so sorry. Please save Tess.”
He pulled the kid in for a hug that went unopposed. “I will. I promise.”
After releasing him, Brian held his gaze until some of the panic on his face eased—not gone, but manageable. Then he turned and headed for the back door.
Outside, the light had softened, the sky fading into a deeper blue but still holding daylight. Waves rolled in beyond the dunes, steady and indifferent, as they had for centuries.
He stepped onto the deck and pulled the door nearly closed behind him, leaving it cracked just enough to hear if Andy called out. Then he pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial set to Rafe’s number. As it rang, Brian stared out over the water, his jaw tightened as a hard, cold focus settled into his mind.
Diego had made a serious mistake taking Tess—and he would pay for it.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The phone felt heavier than it should have in Brian’s hand.
He stood on the back deck for a moment longer than necessary after ending the call to his brother. Tension rolled off him as his mind raced through what Andy had told him and what they needed to learn and do to rescue Tess. And in the space between those thoughts, something else nagged.
You should’ve done more.
The guilt landed hard and unwelcome—over the SUV she’d mentioned, the follow-up he’d meant to make, and the way his caseload had swallowed the hours before he could. He shoved it down. There would be time for that later.
Right now, he needed answers.
He went back inside, where Andy was pacing the same short strip of floor over and over, as if the house had shrunk to just that space. The kid’s phone was clenched in his hand, thumb hovering uselessly over the screen. Every few seconds, he glanced at it, then away again, like he was afraid he might miss the text if he didn’t constantly check for it.
“They’re both coming,” Brian said quietly.
Andy stopped short and nodded. Relief and fear tangled together in his expression.
“Has Diego texted?” He already knew the answer, but asked it anyway to keep himself anchored.
Andy shook his head. “No.”
“Good.” Time mattered, but how they used it mattered more.
He pulled out one of the dining chairs and turned it around, resting his forearms across the back, and forced himself to breathe evenly. Kids read tension like it was a second language, and Andy already had more than enough of it.
The teen returned to his pacing, and Brian watched him for a beat, then asked, “You know your way around systems, right?”
There was a moment of hesitation. “Uh, yeah. I mean... I rerouted Diego’s IP. That’s all I did.” His words came faster after that. “I don’t mess with anything once I’m in a system. I just look around. I like testing my skills—seeing if I can get in. I don’t steal anything or break stuff.” He winced. “Okay, technically, the hacking part’s illegal, but that’s all I do. I swear. You’ve got to believe me.”
Brian listened without interrupting. The kid wasn’t bragging—he was trying to draw a line and stay on the right side of it. “I do believe you.”
Andy’s shoulders dropped a fraction.
“But I asked because...” He briefly bit his bottom lip, giving the idea he had a second thought before continuing. “Do you think you could get into the security system at the M.E.’s office? Exterior camera feeds for the parking lot and entrances. I want to see if that’s where Tess was taken.”
He knew what he was asking the kid to do, but he didn’t think they really had a choice. Going through official channels meant reporting the kidnapping, which came with delays they couldn’t afford and the chance word would reach Diego that the cops were involved. It was a risk either way. Damned if he did, damned if he didn’t.