Chapter 34: Midnight Code
The van smelled like old leather and takeout coffee nobody had touched in hours. Bella sat beside me on the narrow bench seat, knees bouncing just enough to show the nerves she wouldn’t admit out loud. Marcus was up front driving slow through Brooklyn side streets, headlights off, letting the streetlamps do the work. The tablet between us glowed with Kyle’s apartment building feed—empty hallway, flickering bulb over 4C.
Bella kept staring at the new photo on my phone. The red dot on her chest in our own kitchen this morning. She hadn’t said much since it came through, just traced the image with her thumb like she could erase it if she pressed hard enough.
“Talk to me,” I said quietly.
She exhaled through her nose. “I’m trying to figure out how they got inside
