Cord snapped his fingers. ‘That’s right. I remember when Adam signed with the Lobos. The media focused on portraying him as the “phoenix that rose from the ashes” because he’d grown up without a mother and had lost his father two days before his eighteenth birthday.’ His gaze shifted between both Hal and Joe. ‘Do you remember that?’

Both men nodded while Joe added, ‘When Tony read Barry Campbell’s obituary in the paper, he was concerned with how Adam was holding up. He even considered trying to reach out, but decided that would be awkward, especially if Adam didn’t remember him.’

Even though she’d expected that Adam and Alexandra were related, Alyssa still felt a rush of adrenaline at having her suspicions confirmed. Before she could respond to Hal or the others, Bill Hedge poked his head in.

‘Got a second?’ He forged ahead without waiting for a response. ‘Found one usable print on that set of photos you gave me. Prints belong to Adam Campbell.’

A hazy cloud of red and purple stole Alyssa’s vision, and she gouged the soft fabric of the chair she was gripping in an effort to keep herself from reeling through the room like a tornado of destruction. ‘Are you absolutely positive?’ She didn’t even attempt to mask her fury.

‘One hundred percent. Hope that helps. Listen, I’ve got to run.’ Hedge backed out of the room, completely unaware of – or at least wise enough not to mention – the hurricane of emotion he’d unleashed.

‘Lys.’ Hal’s voice came at her like he was miles away underwater – or she was. Finally, he clapped his hands, the sharp sound snapping her back.

Afraid she’d not be able to rein herself in if she lost her cool now, Alyssa’s voice was even as she said, ‘I don’t care how many judges you have to wake, I want that search warrant for Adam Campbell’s residence yesterday.’

Slapping down the urgent need to race back to her daughter’s house to act as a watchdog, she reminded herself that Holly had promised to stay home behind locked doors with Nick, Sophie, Rachel, and Jersey. Right now, Alyssa had to focus on the fact that there were two teenage girls out there who desperately needed to be found. Wherever they were, they had to be terrified, and she knew she and her team would do whatever it took to bring them home.

Chapter Forty

Wednesday, October 9

Dawn was just beginning to push the night out when Addis opened her eyes. Though she’d fought against sleep with every fiber of energy she had left, exhaustion had finally won out. Sitting up, her eyes landed on the table where a water bottle sat with a note secured beneath it. Beside it was a wickedly sharp hunting knife. Leaning forward, she grabbed the water and then placed the knife beside her before reading the note.