Chapter 63: A Beacon in the Night.

Chloe's phone buzzed and chirped persistently from a not-so-restful sleep. Groaning, she randomly swiped at the device until the noise stopped. Bright numbers on the nightstand clock seemed to mock her: 3:27 a.m. She was just about to resign herself to another sleepless night when the phone started buzzing again. Sitting bolt upright with a grunt, Chloe squinted at the screen. "Jessie? What the hell?" She swiped to answer, pinching the bridge of her nose against the headache that was forming. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" "I know, I know," her panic-stricken best friend crackled over the line. "I'm so sorry for calling so late, but really, I just didn't know what else to do. I'm freaking out here, Chloe." Chloe felt cross, but her real irritation faded at once with the raw panic in Jessie's tone. She had known the woman for years—so utterly unflappable, cool, and sarcastic always. To hear her so unspooled set off alarm bells. "Whoa, whoa, easy, tiger," Chloe cooed, slid