From Darkness (Hearts & Arrows Book 3)(74)

“Yeah, more often than you’d think. Smart ghosters stick to the state where the ID is from and get a new ghost identity every ten years, max. Even that’s pushing it. Anyway, if you’re going to take over someone’s life and you have fake papers, the best way to keep getting away with it is to not rock the boat. Don’t go to a new state and try to apply for a license because that’s just asking for trouble. You’ve gotta use the IDs of the dead guy.”

“So, you think he’s going to Washington?”

“If he’s smart, yeah. Let me give you all his numbers.”

“You guys keep all this information on file?”

“Hell yes, we do. We don’t want to double book an ID. Plus, sometimes when we put in favors to guys like you, it can keep us safe from the long arm of the law. You ready for the rest of the info?”

“Yeah.” Jon jotted down the information for the license and Social Security number with his mind on Josie. He had to get to her.

He stuffed his phone and the info on Rhodes into his pocket, grabbed his keys and jacket, and ran out the door.

This time, he was ready. He’d made a habit of not pressing his point, but that time had passed.

He couldn’t walk away again.



Josie paced the length of her apartment. Everything else was at a standstill.

She’d barely slept, and through the long hours of the night, her thoughts had run away like a freight train off a broken bridge. Rhodes had disappeared without a single trace, and every minute that passed carried him further away from her. She’d hit the end of the line, scraped the bottom of the barrel, and there was nothing left to do.

She stopped in the middle of the room and stared at the photos of all the women he had killed.

And in that moment she knew they would never be redeemed.

There was no Hail Mary, no last shot, no final play. He was gone, and they wouldn’t find him.

Her eyes lingered on Anne’s photo and welled with tears.

It’s over.

For the first time since Anne had died, she felt the truth of those two words sinking into her, dragging her down, down to her knees in front of the wall that meant nothing. And she folded in on herself, the pain so deep, so intense, she pressed her hands to her heart, as if they could alleviate the feeling of her ribs splitting.

She had lost.

It had been her one tether to her life, and she had lost her grip on it, felt it slipping through her fingers, too fast and hot to hang on to.

Her eyes closed, but her tears found their way down the planes and curves of her face, her breath too short, lungs too constricted in her grief to do more than sip the air. But she did; she sipped it until she could drink it, cried until there were no more tears, burned until she was ash.

Josie pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, the wash of emotion finally receding, leaving her bare and empty.

And then she grabbed on to that tether again just before it was gone.

Don’t give up.

She knew one thing to be true above all else; she could not keep doing this alone. She needed someone to help her, someone who understood.

And only one person could help her.

Jon.

She had to put her fears aside, put her worry away. She had to call him. Because none of this was about her.

Her heart pitched, her hands numb and cold, when she really understood just how right the decision was. Jon could not only help, but he was willing and offering. Offers she’d refused simply because of her pride.

But she was alone. She’d been alone since Jon left her, but she’d been in hell since losing Anne.

And now, she would ask for his help, and he would give it to her because that was what he did. It would put her in his proximity, forcing them to work as a team, when she’d spent so long stoking the fire of her hatred and anger. The last time they’d worked together, they had been together.

And so she’d have to try to remind herself how he’d damaged her and hope it would be enough to protect her heart.

Josie took a fortifying breath, pulled up his number, and hit Send.



Jon’s phone rang from his pocket, and he almost tripped over his own feet when he saw Josie’s name on his screen.

“Hey, Jo,” he answered.

She took a deep breath in his ear and said in lieu of a greeting, “Does your offer to help still stand?”

A lazy smile crawled across his face. He’d stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, the relief instant and complete. Because even with the information he’d gotten from Jimmy Li, he hadn’t been convinced she’d accept his help without a serious fight. And now he wouldn’t have to convince her of anything.

He threw on his charm to cover up the truth. “I thought you might come around.” He started walking again.

“Oh?” It was just one tight syllable.

“Well, I was hoping,” Jon said, smiling but soft, the words whispering an apology.

She paused for a split second. “I’ve hit a dead end, Jon. I’ve done everything I know to do, but I can’t find a trace on him. His accounts aren’t moving. I canvassed salvage yards and came up empty. I searched his house, and he didn’t leave anything behind. He’s smart, Jon, and now…there’s nothing left. Nothing. And I need help.”

His smile fell away, his heart aching at her hopeless, frantic words. But he kept up his front, his armor, his charm. “You told me to leave it alone, but lucky for you, I’m a terrible listener. Did you think I wasn’t gonna dig around on my own?”