I sat on the museum steps, enjoying the sun streaming down. It was crowded with tourists and other people milling around, some sitting just like I was, some eating, some heading into the building.

Brooks had gotten up early and gone to see a veterinarian who was willing to stitch shut his wounds, no questions asked. Once that was done, we went to the meeting place early, and he went out to scout out the area. He was annoyed that I had come, but that didn’t matter. I needed to take control of my own life and stop being a passive observer. If I had stayed behind, I would never have forgiven myself. Some part of him had to understand that.

I felt good. I didn’t know why, since I was probably in a lot of danger, but I felt good. The sun was shining, it was nice and warm, and a cool breeze passed over the crowd. I felt strong and light and free for the first time in a long time.

I watched as Brooks came up the steps toward me. I couldn’t help but smile at his dour, serious expression. He wore a light brown jacket, a black T-shirt, and a pair of loose jeans. I knew the jacket was hiding at least one gun and a knife, though I was betting he had more on him.

I smiled at him as he sat next to me. “Nice day,” I said.

“Yeah,” he grunted. “Beautiful.”

“See anything?”

“Nothing.”

I put my hand on his leg. “See? Relax. We’ll be okay.”

“Easy for you to say. I’m the one who has to kill a bunch of people if this goes wrong.”

I moved my hand back and sighed, leaning back. “Give me a gun. I’ll do some killing.”

He laughed. “You’re more likely to shoot yourself or me than the enemy, so no. You can just run.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Seriously, Emma. If this goes bad, you have to run. And run fast.”

“Why?”

“Because they’ll come for you. They’ll try to take you.”

“So what? I’m not leaving you behind.”

“In my bedroom, under the mattress, there’s around twenty thousand in big bills. Take that and leave the country.”

“Holy shit,” I said. “Seriously? Under the mattress?”

He grinned at me. “I know. Really cliché.”

“You’re a gangster with cash under his mattress. It doesn’t get any more cliché.”

“Can’t help it.”

“I was wondering what that lump was.”

“You were feeling sweet, sweet cash.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you really think I’ll need it?”

“Maybe,” he said. “Just be ready. Can you promise me?”

“Fine,” I said. “I promise.”

He nodded, satisfied. “Now I guess we wait.”

I held my hand up to shield my eyes. I checked my watch and frowned. It was a few minutes past one already, and the Spiders hadn’t shown up yet.

I found myself looking around the crowd, wondering if any of them were the Spiders. I watched a young mom playing with her little baby and wondered if she had another life. I watched an old man buying a hotdog, suspicious of his oversized jacket.

Everyone around me had become a suspect. Still, that didn’t do much to cut into my bad mood.

“What do you think of him?” I asked, nodding at the old man.

“Killer, no doubt,” Brooks said.

“Really?”

“Look at how he moves. Killer, with magic knees.”

“You mean titanium knees. He’s at least eighty years old.”

“He’s been in the game forever.”

I laughed. “What about her? The girl with the pink hair.”

“Oh,” he said, nodding. “Now she’s dangerous. Watch out.”

“Why?”

“She’s got pink hair, tattoos, and a skateboard. That girl might not be a killer, but she’s the most dangerous person here.”

I couldn’t help but laugh again as we imagined fake scenarios for a few more people in the crowd. It felt comfortable laughing and joking with him like this, almost as if we weren’t about to meet a deadly gang about my future.

I felt myself feeling comfortable with him. Just a few days ago, Brooks was a terrifying stranger who I was convinced wanted to rape and murder me. Now, though, I trusted him more than anyone else in the world. I knew he had my best interests at heart, even if I didn’t always agree with him.

Brooks was a killer, a dangerous man, but he cared about me, made me laugh, made me feel things I’d never felt before.

A few minutes later, Brooks’s phone began to ring. He answered it.

“Yeah?” A short pause. “Where?” He clenched his jaw. “Fine. See you shortly.”

He hung up the phone.

“Come on,” he said, standing. “We’re going inside.”

“What?”

“Apparently the Spider is inside.”

I got up and followed him as we wove our way through the crowd. He moved like a panther stalking his prey, lithe and strong. I couldn’t help but marvel at him as he dodged past the tourists and their screaming kids.

We got in line and waited. It moved pretty fast, and soon enough we had our tickets. I followed him as he moved along, his eyes constantly darting around. I could see that he was assessing everything around him, wondering what the angles were, how we could escape. I should have felt nervous, but all I felt was excitement coursing through my veins.

I’d never done something like this before. I felt like a spy in a movie or something. Without Brooks, I would have been lost, alone, and terrified, but with him, I felt incredibly alive.

We wove our way through exhibit after exhibit. From dinosaur bones to renaissance paintings, the museum seemed to have everything. I wanted to stop and stare at the art, to feel and experience it, but we had something more important to do. Maybe after we could wander through the halls together and I could figure out what made this man tick.

Finally, we reached the back of the building. There weren’t any other people here as we stepped into a room dedicated to voodoo art and culture. Shrunken heads, magical runes, small statues in various shapes, bundles of incense, and more dotted the walls and the glass cases.

We stopped and Brooks looked around. “This is the spot,” he said.

“Think they’re late?”

“I don’t know.” I saw him reaching slowly toward his pants where his gun was hidden.

“Hello, Brooks.”

We both looked up, surprised. A thin woman stepped into the room, smiling. She was beautiful, with thick dark hair, large dark eyes, and light, flawless skin.

“Holy shit,” Brooks said.

“I prefer Louisa,” the woman responded.

“What’s happening?” I asked Brooks softly.

“This is Louisa Barone. She’s the daughter of the mafia’s head boss.”

She smiled and nodded. “Yep. That’s right.”

“So you people know then?” he asked. “Why would you come here and not Dante?”

“You misunderstand, Brooks. I’m the person you’re here to meet with.”

I watched as Brooks stared at her and slowly comprehension dawned. “You’re the Spider.”

“That’s right. I’m the black widow.”

“I heard you never left your room.”

She smiled again. “That’s a convenient lie. Well, it used to be true, but not anymore.”

“I don’t understand.”

She walked into the room. “Can you guess why I picked this room in particular?”

“Back of the building, few people, easy to attack.”

“All of that is true,” she said, “but there’s something else. Voodoo itself is important to me.”

“Voodoo,” Brooks said flatly.

She nodded again. “Haitian Voodoo is very, very interesting. It has a long history of important women priests. I think they’re called mambo. The mambo protect their people with magic spells to keep away evil spirits.” She looked up and smiled at me. “That’s more or less what I do, Emma.”

I blinked at her.

“Why are we here?” Brooks asked.

Louisa looked back at him. “I want to help you, Brooks. I wanted you to see me, to know my secret, in exchange for your trust. Now you know. I’ve been attacking my father’s mafia, stealing away the women he enslaves and setting them free. I’ve been running a large network of men and women for a long time, all building up to this.”

“I don’t understand,” Brooks said. “Why would you hurt your own family?”

She shrugged and came closer. “I have my reasons. But most importantly, I can help you.”

“How?”

“I have connections. I can get you into a safe house. I can get rid of Abram’s body as well, even run interference with my family for a while. Soon, we’ll be able to get you both out of the city.”

“Why?” I asked suddenly. “I don’t understand. Why would you risk your family for us?”

Louisa looked at me and smiled. “I knew you were worth bringing here. Have you ever felt powerless, small? Like nobody could save you?”

I nodded but said nothing.

“Me too,” she said. “I want to give power to the powerless. That’s why I save these women forced into sex slavery. That’s why I want to help you.”

“I don’t trust you,” Brooks said. “You’re a Barone. You’re one of them. Why the hell would I believe you?”

She sighed. “Because, Brooks, you have no other choice.”

Just then, men flooded into the room, men wearing black masks and carrying weapons. Brooks reached for his gun, but in the heat of the moment, I found myself throwing myself at him. I grabbed his arm, stopping him just as the men reached us. They quickly disarmed Brooks and grabbed me, ripping me away from him.

Black hoods were shoved over our heads. Strong hands pulled me along, shoving me, pushing me. I stumbled in total darkness, my heart hammering in my chest.

She wanted to give power to the powerless.

With a black hood over my head, I felt more powerless than I ever had before.