But we both knew it was a lie, and more and more worry pinched her face.

“I’ll get you out of here,” she promised.

“Of course you will,” I replied in an easy voice.

Another lie, since we both knew the only way I was getting out of here now was in a pine box. I’d escaped Madeline’s trap to sucker me into police custody back at the restaurant, but now here I was tangled up in it all the same. She’d probably told Dobson to assault Bria at some point during their confrontation, knowing that I would step in to stop him. Part of me had realized that I was giving Madeline exactly what she wanted by taking down Dobson and that he would use my intervention as an excuse to arrest me. But at least I’d saved my sister from his physical wrath.

The two officers holding on to me tightened their bruising grips on my upper arms, but I didn’t move, I didn’t resist, and I didn’t fight back. That would just make things worse.

Silvio had been standing next to Sophia, and they both came striding over. The vampire planted himself in front of Dobson.

“Where are you taking my client?” Silvio demanded. “She didn’t do anything wrong. She was simply defending her sister. What could you possibly be charging her with?”

Dobson looked down his nose at the other man. “Assaulting an officer, for starters. As for the rest, well, give me a few minutes. With all the bad things that bitch has done, it shouldn’t be too hard to come up with something else.” He glanced over at the men still holding on to me. “Take her away.”

“Forget it,” Silvio snapped. “She’s right here. Let’s get her processed and out on bail. Immediately.”

“Aw, I’m sorry, Mr. Lawyer Man, but I’m afraid that it’s too late to do that now. There’s just no way to process her in time for release before the end of business today. I’m afraid that your client will have to spend the night in jail.” Dobson held his hands out to his sides as though he were helpless in all of this. “Them’s the rules. I’m sure you understand.”

It was just after three in the afternoon, plenty of time to get me processed and out on bail, but we all knew that wasn’t going to happen. Now that Dobson had his hooks into me, he wasn’t going to let go until one of us was dead.

Silvio’s gray eyes glittered with anger, and he straightened up to his full height, which was still more than twelve inches shorter than Dobson’s massive, seven-foot frame. “What I understand is that if Ms. Blanco gets so much as a hangnail while she is in your custody, then she will sue you, the department, and every other person in this station.”

“So many empty threats,” another voice called out. “It’s a good thing that I happen to be an expert on legal matters like these.”

Jonah McAllister wove his way through the crowd, his shiny black wing tips tap-tap-tapping out on the floor the drumbeat of my approaching doom.

“Oh, look,” I drawled. “Another cockroach out in the middle of broad daylight. Will wonders never cease.”

Jonah’s jaw clenched, but the rest of his too-tight skin didn’t move with the sour expression. “Oh, Gin.” He let out a hearty, merry chuckle. “You don’t know how happy it makes me to finally see you here, where you belong.”

“Well,” I drawled back, “I’m sure that you can give me some tips on how to navigate the big house. Especially when it comes to bending over for everyone. Tell me, how is that pesky court case against you progressing? You know, the one with all those disturbing counts of murder, robbery, and conspiracy? Hmm?”

Jonah’s brown eyes narrowed, and his mouth flattened out as much as it could, but he didn’t respond to my taunt. Didn’t much matter. I knew the real reason he was here. In fact, I’d been waiting for him or even Madeline herself to show up ever since I entered the station. But I supposed that she was still too busy with the library dedication to her dead mama to come and see about me—yet.

Jonah looked over at Dobson. “Rest assured, Captain, that if this woman assaulted you, then you have every right to arrest her. The law will back you up on that, in my expert opinion.”

“The only thing you’re an expert at is being a weasel,” I cut in, ignoring his flimsy justifications. “We all know that Madeline sent you here to be her eyes and ears. Glad to see she’s found some use for you. It won’t last, though. You know that better than anyone. As soon as she’s done with you, Madeline will use her acid magic to dissolve that smooth face of yours into a puddle of melted skin. I bet it happens soon too. Like, say, right after that party she’s planning?”

It was a calculated jab, and I had the satisfaction of seeing Jonah blink in surprise. “How do you know about the coronation—”

He clamped his lips shut, realizing that he’d already said too much. This time, my eyes were the ones that narrowed. Coronation? Perhaps it wasn’t so much a party as it was Madeline asserting herself and taking control of the underworld, just like Mab had done so many years ago.

And I finally realized what Madeline’s crowning achievement was going to be—my murder.

This was it. This was her endgame. This was what all the underworld bosses had been so desperately trying to accomplish these last several months. Madeline had just been smarter, slyer, and more motivated to make it happen than anyone else. She had realized that sending her minions after me head-on like all the other bosses had was a stupid waste of time and resources. So she’d waited, and she’d plotted and planned, and she’d decided to hit me where it would hurt the most—by going after my friends. Roslyn. Owen. Eva. Finn. Jo-Jo. And now Sophia, Bria, and Xavier were caught up in the mess too.

Silvio had once told me that Madeline wanted to burn my world to the ground before she killed me. Well, so far, she was doing a bang-up job of it, and all I saw were flames every which way I turned. Hurt my friends, murder me, and take control of the underworld all at the same time. Even I had to admit that it was a neat, ambitious hat trick, and she was pulling it off beautifully so far.

“Enough talk,” Dobson growled. “She assaulted me, and she’s been arrested. So put that bitch in a cell. Now.”

Silvio, Bria, Xavier, and Sophia protested, shouting in louder and louder voices that I was innocent, that I hadn’t done anything wrong, that this was the worst sort of frame-up. But it was no use. Dobson was in charge, and all the other cops were either too crooked or too afraid of him to do anything but follow his barked orders.