Maddox's POV:
I'd spent weeks trying to track this ghost—paying Jayden under the table, slipping him my phone's logs, chasing shadows through burner numbers and encrypted calls.
And now here he was, sitting across from me like we'd scheduled a coffee date.
"You," I breathed, straining against the ropes. "What did you do? How did you…"
The auto-tune laughed, cutting me off in a recognized echoing sound that always crawled under my skin.
"Since you were looking for me... I decided to come and see you instead." the voice muttered, then took in a deep breath before continuing.
"Don't waste your time tracking me, Maddox. Everything you do, I know."
I glanced at Jayden, his head lolling to the side, blood trickling from a gash on his temple like a zombie.
They'd beaten him bad—probably to make a point.
"You didn't have to do this," I said, voice low but trying to sound tough.
