Chapter Twenty-Two
I show Caden the message.
He reads it once. He stands up.
"Where does Eli live," he says.
"I do not know. He gave me a number. That is all I have."
I am already calling it.
It rings four times. Five. Six.
Nothing.
I try again. Same result.
The particular cold that settles in my chest when a phone rings and rings is different from every other kind of cold. It means the person on the other end either cannot answer or has been stopped from answering and neither option is comfortable.
"He texted from his phone," I say. "Which means it was in his hand thirty seconds ago."
"Which means Aldric arrived fast," Caden says. "Faster than Eli expected."
I look at Caden.
"Aldric is not here for Eli," I say slowly. "Eli is a means. Aldric is showing up at his door because
