166: Peace.

Castle.

I was sitting alone at the bar when my phone rang. The sound cut through the noise of people talking, glasses clinking, music humming low in the background. I almost didn’t answer.

I’d been nursing the same drink for over an hour, staring into it like maybe I’d find something in there that could fix everything that had gone wrong. But the moment I saw the caller ID, I knew.

I picked it up, and the voice on the other end froze me. It was familiar and I knew who it was immediately: Angel’s father.

“Castle,” he said. “If you ever want to see Angel again, come to the location I’ll send you.”

Then the line went dead.

For a few seconds, I just sat there. My chest felt like it was full of lead. I checked the text that came in right after — a set of coordinates. My heart started pounding.

I opened the security app I’d installed on my phone earlier that week — the one that connected to the hidden camera in my room. The live feed showed nothing. The bed was empty and Angel