Keeley felt faint. Her feet skidded and stumbled under her as Carol and another agent marched her to the basement level. She barely noticed where they were taking her.

The only thing she could see was the look on Lance’s face when he realized who she was. What she was.

Her guards stopped outside a heavy-looking door that opened to reveal a windowless cell. Four plain walls, concrete floor. The only furniture was a steel-framed bench welded to one wall.

Keeley stumbled in, feeling light-headed, and the door slammed behind her.

She fell to her knees, her head swimming.

I should have told him earlier, she thought vaguely. I should have told him everything. Who I really am. Who Sean is. He could have tracked Sean down, found out whoever was behind the kidnapping…

Keeley shook her head. Cold was creeping through her limbs, bone-deep and icy enough to make her shiver.

Telling Lance the truth wouldn’t have helped. What was she supposed to do, tell Lance she’d lied about everything else, but she was totally telling the truth this time, honest?

He wouldn’t have believed her.

And now… it was too late. It was all too late. Even if Lance did hear her out now, what could she say? That she used to be a criminal, but that was all behind her now?

Because it wasn’t. Sean had made sure of that. No matter how far she ran, she would never escape him.

She slumped on the ground. There was a low bench along one wall, but right now, she couldn’t see any point in moving to it. Nothing mattered. Lance knew who she was, and…

In some ways, it was a relief.

She didn’t need to lie to Lance anymore. Or worry about how he’d react when he found out the truth. The worst had already happened, after all. Lance hated her.

… And he was going to take down the other bad guys. And Maggie would be safe. She was back with the other eggs now, and soon, they would all be reunited with their uncle.

Keeley blinked. That sounded suspiciously like a happy ending. For everyone except her, but… it wasn’t like she deserved a happy ending, after all.

Maybe she hadn’t wanted to get involved with the kidnapping, but she had, hadn’t she? And she’d known who was behind it—one of the people, at least—and hadn’t told Lance. She could have helped with the investigation, but she’d chosen to protect herself.

Everything that Briers had said was true. She deserved this. She was a thief. And a liar. She’d even—

Wait.

The concrete floor was like a block of ice under her legs. She rested her palms on it, willing the chill to snap her out of the fog that filled her mind. What had Briers said?

She closed her eyes, pulling up the memory of Briers’ twisted smirk. Breaking and entering. Burglary. Assault.

Keeley’s eyes snapped open. How the hell did Briers know about the assault charge?

Because there wasn’t an assault charge. Nothing on the books, nothing official. That had been the deal.

Keeley swallowed, her tongue scraping dry against the top of her mouth. Only four people knew about the assault. Her. Gran. The guy she’d attacked. And Sean.

Keeley’s gran was dead. The guy she’d attacked wouldn’t talk—that was the deal, that they would keep quiet or they’d go public with what he’d done, too.

Keeley sure as shit hadn’t told anyone.

Which left…

Keeley jumped to her feet so quickly her head spun. She stumbled, scraping her palms on the floor as she caught her balance, and threw herself at the door.

An inside job. She’d been wrong to suspect Carol, but not wrong about someone in Lance’s agency being involved.

She pounded on the door as hard as she could, ignoring the stinging pain in her hands.

“It’s a trap,” she yelled, hoping at least one of the agents sent to guard her was still on the other side of the door. “It’s a trap, you have to stop them, it’s a trick—”

The door opened under her fists, and she fell forward, cracking her knees on the ground. Someone was standing behind the door; they’d stepped back as she fell, keeping their shiny black brogues out of her path.

“Tell Lance,” Keeley gasped, winded. “Tell Lance—he’s in danger. Whatever lead he’s chasing, I think it’s a trap. The people who tried to take Maggie have someone in the agency. They’re feeding you information. They—”

She looked up, and all the blood drained from her face.

“A trap?” Briers said. “Well, well. Aren’t you clever.”