Chapter 123

I pace away from Jackson and leave him watching me with an exasperated expression. He isn’t having the same panic over Alexi’s safety as I am and doesn’t get the depths of fear coursing through me.

I avoid people milling around and head out to the corridor, using my pass to get into the kitchen out of the way, glad to see it’s empty.

I head straight for my phone, pull it off the charging dock, immediately swipe to Alexi’s number, and hit dial, tensing my whole body and holding my breath as I put it to my ear.

It rings out for what seems like an eternity, then goes straight to his answerphone, and I try again.

Two, three, four, five times in a row with mounting panic as each one trails off and then goes to his voicemail. I take a heavy breath and shake myself. Instead, I pull up Mico’s number and try him with a sense of hope and my fingers crossed.

I get the same result.

My heart plummeting, and my head consumed with worry and frustration. I have n