Chapter 6 · Traceless - Chapter 6: No Signal

The warehouse smelled like rust and old motor oil. Cole kicked the door shut behind them and dragged a metal shelf in front of it. His hands were shaking. Blood still crusted under his nose.

"They'll track us here," Layla said. Her voice came out flat. She was past panic now. Past the part where she could pretend any of this made sense.

Cole pulled out the scanner. The screen lit up his face in cold blue. "Yeah. They will. Because of this."

The tracker icon blinked inside the outline of his body. Right where his heart should be.

Layla stared at it. "You said you'd cut it out."

"I will." He set the scanner on a table and started pulling open drawers. "Soon as I figure out where the hell it is."

"Cole—"

"It's not in my wrist. Not in my neck. HQ buried it deep." He yanked out a roll of duct tape, a box cutter, a length of wire. His movements were too fast. Too sharp. "Probably thought I'd never need to know."

Layla watched him tear through the drawers like he could find an answer in old tools and zip ties.