Carden stared at his phone, his pulse ticking louder with every second.
Who sent it?
And who was watching him?
The screen was dark now, harmless-looking, but the message clung to him like a second skin. I'm watching you. Four words, simple and precise, yet heavy enough to shift the air in the room. He turned the phone face down on the table, as though that might silence the threat.
It didn't.
He tried to convince himself it was nothing—an empty scare tactic, a bored mind playing games. But his instincts refused to settle. They hadn't failed him yet.
He dialed Fred.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
No answer.
Carden frowned. Fred hadn't come by today either, and that fact pressed harder than the message itself. Fred was predictable. Reliable to a fault. A call every eveni
