Chapter 83: THE KISS UNDER THE RAIN
ARIANA
The search for Marcus stalls just after nine, the traffic camera trail going cold three blocks from the Greyridge address, and Liam finally pushes back from his deck with the particular stiffness of a man who has been sitting in the same position for too many hours straight.
"We need to stop for the night," he says. "Not because I want to. Because we'll miss something obvious if we keep running on no sleep and pure adrenaline."
Dominic and Aria are already arguing quietly in the corner about whether to call Liam's contact at the federal building, their voices low and urgent, and I find myself standing in the kitchen doorway with nothing useful left to contribute, every lead exhausted, every theory already turned over twice. I need air. I need five minutes where I am not looking at a screen or a folder or my sister's frightened face.
I step outside onto the small back porch just as the rain starts.
