“Let me,” I said. “So neither of you will be.”

Anne glanced at me in surprise, and again I tried to read whatever lay beneath her expression, but either she was really good at hiding her thoughts, or there was truly nothing to hide. “Thanks,” she said at last.

“Okay, Romeo, you’re up.” Kori slapped my shoulder, then headed for the darkened hallway. I grabbed a backpack full of prepacked emergency supplies and started to follow her, then felt Liv’s warm hand on my arm.

“Wait,” she said, and I turned just as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Her lips met mine, demanding, and I gave everything I could, a little worried by the intensity of her goodbye. I’d see her again in half an hour. “Don’t turn any lights on,” she said, pulling away reluctantly. “And stay away from the windows. No one can know you’re there, even once I get there.”

“Don’t worry.” I let my forehead touch hers. “I’m not afraid of the dark.” I glanced at Anne, then smiled at Hadley, who was staring at us. “See you two in a few minutes.” Then I followed Kori down the hall to stand in front of the unlit, windowless bathroom.

“You remember how?” she asked, and I nodded, though I wasn’t sure if she could see that in the dark. I’d shadow-walked with her a few times before, for work. It was faster and quieter than driving. “Good. Nothing’s changed. Just hold my hand and take three normal steps forward when I tell you to. I’ll do the rest.”

“You know where we’re going?”

“Yeah. Liv gave me the address, and I checked it out when I left here, ’cause I’m that fuckin’ pro.” She glanced over her shoulder, where I could hear Anne talking to her daughter in the living room, explaining what was going to happen and that it wouldn’t hurt at all. “Okay, start walkin’,” Kori said, taking my hand. So I stepped deliberately into the bathroom, and she walked with me. Three steps later, her hand tightened around mine. “Stop. We’re here.”

I stood still and blinked, and realized almost immeately that the room we’d stepped into felt much bigger than my bathroom, though I couldn’t make out anything other than darkness and the general sense of open space. The air was cooler—obviously the heat wasn’t running, and I was willing to bet it hadn’t been used since the previous winter.

Kori let go of my hand and I blinked rapidly, trying to bring the dark room into focus. “Give your eyes a second to adjust,” she said, backing away from me with confidence while I stood with my arms out to feel for obstacles I couldn’t yet see. Kori was accustomed to the dark. She was at home there.

I blinked again and finally found two windows, defined by the weak light leaking in around what could only be blackout curtains, probably hung for privacy by a very optimistic Ruben Cavazos. My blood boiled over the implications, and only when Kori tugged me toward the silhouette of a couch I could barely make out did I realize the room was slowly coming into focus as my eyes adjusted. Familiar shadows took shape against the darkness in the forms of chairs, small tables and a large, sleek entertainment center on one side of the room.

“Sit, and stay out of the way.” She pushed me onto the center couch cushion, and my temper burned a little brighter when I felt rich, smooth leather beneath my hands, double stitched and trimmed in what felt like rivets. Did he think he could buy Liv with nice furniture, when he hadn’t been able to command his way into her pants? I’d never met anyone as strong-willed as Olivia Warren, and whether Cavazos knew it or not, he probably hadn’t, either.

But in six months, if I couldn’t get her out of her contract, Liv’s free will would be reduced to a furious voice screaming inside her head, while the rest of her submitted to his every demand. He would break her, both body and spirit, and I couldn’t let that happen.

“I’ll be back with Anne in a second,” Kori said, pulling me from my inner rage, and though I didn’t see or hear her step back through the shadows, I could tell by the suddenly empty feel of the room that she was gone.

My eyes continued to adjust in her absence, and less than a minute later, Kori stepped into existence in the middle of the room with Anne in tow. “Here.” Kori held Anne’s hand out to me in the shadows and I stood to take it. “Don’t let her trip over anything while her eyes adjust. I gotta go get the kid.”

Then she was gone again, and Annika’s hand was tight around mine. “I can’t see you, Cam,” she said, and I squeezed her hand to set her at ease, trying not to think about the last time I’d touched her.

“I know. Your eyes will adjust in a minute. Come sit over here, though, or they’ll walk right into you when they get here.” I led her back to the couch and we sat side by side in the awkward silence while I tried to figure out how best to begin the conversation that would reveal Hadley as my daughter. Or not.

But I couldn’t find the words, and she didn’t seem to know they were missing, so we just sat there in the dark, waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

And finally Anne turned to me, her face a darker silhouette against the dim room. “Something’s wrong.”

“It’s only been a couple of minutes,” I insisted, pulling my phone from my pocket to check the time. But that was poack to tss, because I didn’t know exactly when Kori had left us. “Hadley probably just got scared. She doesn’t really know Kori, and Kori can be kind of scary….” I forced a laugh, but even I wasn’t buying it.