Chloe’s thumb hovered over the green button.

Her hand shook so violently the phone knocked against her silver rings.

“Put it on speaker,” I said, my voice barely a breath.

She tapped the screen and slid her finger across the glass.

She hit the speaker icon and set the phone on the wooden table between us.

The hum of the air conditioner in the Denver motel room seemed to die instantly.

“Chloe?” Lucas’s voice came through the small speaker.

It was the same smooth, calm voice that used to tell me he loved me every morning.

Hearing it now made a cold sweat break out across the back of my neck.

Chloe swallowed, her throat moving dryly.

“I’m here,” she said.

Her voice cracked slightly on the second word.

“Are you alone?” Lucas asked.

There was a brief pause on the line, filled with the faint sound of wind on his end.

He was still in Palm Springs, likely sitting by the pool of the rental house.

“Yes,” Chloe said, looking directly at me. “I’m alone.”

“Good,” Lucas said. “Did you boot up the cloner?”