“I remember something. For my high school graduation, the guardian of the group home I was in took the locket to get it cleaned for me. She was one of the nicer ones and I trusted her.”
Nodding at her recollection, Cliff glided his hand down her arm until he clasped Alexis’ hand. Tugging it toward him, he flipped it over, her palm faced upward toward the ceiling.
“You shouldn’t have,” he explained and she gasped in horror as he placed her locket on her palm with the back removed. A small black object attached to the inside of the backing caught her eye.
“What’s th-” she began, but Cliff continued. “My guess is your father had been tracking you. In the group home and because of social services he could always keep an eye on where you were, even manipulating your location if he wanted. When you graduated high school, which is a rarity in the system, I might add, he knew if he wanted to continue knowing where you were at all times, then he had to do something drastic.
“I’m sure it didn’t take much convincing to get his hands on the necklace and place the tracking system inside. It’s one I’ve seen before, very popular in the late nineteen nineties.”
What little strength Alexis possessed at the moment immediately dissipates into the air. Her shoulders drooped toward the floor as she hung her head. Betrayal – that’s what she felt. Complete and utter betrayal.
“So, he’s always known where I’ve been?”
Cliff’s hand pressed onto her shoulder, his attention doing little to brighten her mood.
“Yes, which means he knew you were arriving at his bunker,” Cliff seethed, his voice sounding pained to Alexis’ ears. She pulled her gaze from the jewelry resting on her palm to the man standing before her.
“That explains why the women were moved.”
“It also means that he set you up and knowingly had his men shoot at you. I’m not sure what he’s up to because he’s had ample time to take you out since you’ve been here.”
Her face blanched, all warmth drained from her skin as she took in his words. Her father was truly a heartless bastard. It almost made her sick to her stomach knowing that she was related to him, that they shared DNA.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” she explained, her gut churning.
“That’s not the worst of our problems. I need to run it through my scanner, but if your father is who I think he is – we’re going to have more than just a few men on our tails.”
From behind her, a voice called out from the hallway, “What do we need to do?” She recognized it as Dylan.
“We need to take this thing as far away as possible.”
She really hoped that he was referring to the necklace, because for the first time, Alexis was tired of running. For once, she wanted to stay.
Chapter Five
Cliff hated that he had to leave Alexis just after she learned that her father had been tracking her for all these years. He knew that she was strong, but she still mourned the loss of her family, and knowing that her father had ample opportunities to reconnect was a bit more than he thought Alexis could handle right now. Not three or four days ago, she watched her entire team get shot down and killed at the hand of her father.
“So, explain to me again what we’re doing,” Preston asked.
Cliff turned away from looking out the passenger window and focused on the town sheriff, Preston. He didn’t know much about the man except what was in his file, but Cliff was impressed when he learned of the man’s years of undercover work. Cliff also knew that Preston had deceived and lied to Sydney and Dylan at one point. The sheriff was still working to get in the Connelly’s good graces.
“We need to make it look like Alexis skipped town. Bide ourselves more time before her father descends onto Carson. And he would come here looking for her.”
“And you thought a five-hour trip one way to Raleigh was a good idea?”
“Yes. There is a major airport and it is big enough that it will appear that Alexis is trying to hide out with a larger crowd. I found an abandoned warehouse; we can take the locket before I place it in my transmission blocker.”
When Cliff had remembered the heavy black box in his closet, elation had spiraled through him. After finding the tracking system in Alexis’ locket, the gathering in his living room had instantly quiet. The room was filled with fear and anger. But he was glad he was able to put some of them at ease. It only took a few minutes for him and Dylan to concoct a plan to deter the cartel chasing after Alexis. He was surprised when Alexis agreed to stay with Dylan while Cliff went off to complete the task.
“And you needed me to use my authority to get us there faster,” Preston clarified.
“Bingo.”
Leaning toward the driver’s side, Cliff smiled as he read the speedometer at almost one hundred miles per hour. He had drowned out the sounds of the sirens nearly two hours into their trip.
The GPS guided them to their destination, and together, the men carried the locket toward an upper floor of the abandoned warehouse, appearing to be inhabited by the homeless at some point recently based on the urine smell permeating in the space.
As they traveled back toward Carson, the necklace now safe in the blocking box, Cliff texted Dylan to meet him at his studio office. After prying the picture of her parents from the inside of the locket, Cliff wanted to run them through his government-issued scanner to see if it picked up on anyone.