It had been hours since I’d discovered Joelle missing from the hotel. Hours since I’d started on the drive back to LA.

I’d left the house in a fit of fury, but I hadn’t driven off. I had the keys to the car to keep Papa from doing something with it, and I kept circling the block, keeping an eye on my means of escape – and on everything that was still packed inside it.

If some miracle plan occurred to me, I was going to be inside that car, and nothing on earth would stop me. Not Papa, not Vano, not anything.

But so far, no miracle plan had occurred.

So far, only one somewhat cohesive idea had come to me, and it wasn’t the best.

“What in the hell am I going to do?”

There was nobody to answer me, but that was a good thing. I’d walked out of the house, and it was late. I had no idea what time it was and no desire to take the simple action of pulling my phone from my pocket to check.

I knew it was late enough that the neighborhood around me had gone to sleep, hardly any cars driving up and down the road which put the time somewhere after midnight at least.

I’d probably been out wandering the streets for over an hour.

I didn’t know what to do, but it was looking more and more like I was just about out of options. That only meant one thing.

Well, two things. I could give Papa the money and let Joelle get married to that bastard Ephraim, but that wasn’t a viable option.

No, the only real option in my mind was the one that I’d been trying to avoid.

Going to the police.

I didn’t know what other choice I had.

No doubt Papa was keeping my sister under lock and key now. He wouldn’t let her go to school or anything – that might be the way in if she didn’t show up for a few days. Contact the school and see if I couldn’t talk to a guidance counselor, who would then contact the cops.

But that would mean waiting, and I didn’t know if I had the time to wait.

“Damn you, Papa.”

I’d let him have the money and be done with it if he’d just leave me and Joelle alone. I could take her away, and somehow, we’d find a way to make it on our own. I had no idea how, but we’d manage. After all, Catherine had done it with Nicco.

Catherine.

Nicco.

Why hadn’t I given them a chance?

“Maybe I should call them,” I whispered. My foot hit a rock, and as it skittered down the sidewalk, I fought back a shiver. It wasn’t cold out, but in that moment, I couldn’t help but realize how terribly alone I was. Not just out here, as I paced the sidewalk, but in reality. I had to fix this horrible mess of a problem, and I knew that Papa would be waiting for me to do something.

He wouldn’t believe that I’d sit quietly by now, not after we’d already tried to run away.

I came to the end of the block and stood there, staring at the house where I’d conned people out of money and where Papa had sold my sister into a life where she’d be treated as little more than property and a broodmare. I hated this. I hated my life and hated my helplessness.

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

A car sat across the street from where I stood. It hadn’t been there the last time I’d come around the block, had it? Nervous, I shot it a furtive glance

Turning on my heel, I started back in the opposite direction, moving at a quicker pace than before.

I glanced back and picked up my speed. I didn’t know if the car belonged to somebody in the area or not, but it made me nervous. Maybe it was because I was so stressed from everything going on, but for some reason, the tinted windows of the vehicle seemed like eyes, staring out at me in the night.

“You’re going a little crazy,” I told myself. “Sleep deprivation. Stress. Worry.”

All of the above.

My belly rumbled, and I added hunger to the list.

I wasn’t even hungry per se, but my body wanted fuel. It wanted a drink and about ten hours horizontal, but despite my gritty eyes and my rumbling belly, I wasn’t going anywhere until I figured out a plan.

There had to be an option.

But no matter how many times I circled around the various possibilities in my mind, I kept coming back to just one.

Going to the cops.

Sure, I was looking at trouble myself, but it would save Joelle. And if I returned the money, I probably wouldn’t be in that much trouble. And if Joelle was safe, wasn’t that worth any trouble I might find myself in?

Besides, once I got my sister safe, what was the family likely to do?

I might find myself thrown out of the clan, but for me, that would be a blessing.

And if I returned the money…

What would Kian think if I showed up at his business and returned the money I’d taken from his mother? Would he appreciate it? Would he tell me to get the hell out? Would he call the police?

Maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

If the police were pulled in, I could explain the trouble Joelle was in, and they’d have to do something, wouldn’t they?

Although what if they couldn’t find her?

Would they give up if Papa lied to them?

Would they believe him?

No. I couldn’t risk doing anything like that until I knew Joelle was safe. The money would be after I took care of my sister. So, the police…then the money. That meant I had to figure out where my sister was.

Would Vano be keeping her?

The idea turned my stomach a little, and I had to brace myself, force myself to think through a possible plan, because it was very likely Joelle was with Vano. Papa couldn’t have just sent her anywhere. It wasn’t…seemly for a young, unmarried female to stay with just anybody in the clan. But Vano was married and had girls about Trice’s age. It wouldn’t be much of an issue there. And it could be considered that Vano was protecting her.

From me. The idea was laughable.

They were going to marry her off to somebody more than twice her age, somebody who was brutal, with an ugly temper and they were hiding her from me, the only person who was determined to protect her.

And I couldn’t get her out by myself. It was painfully clear to me.

I’d failed the first time by not getting far enough away, by not making sure that Joelle understood how important it was that she didn’t call the house. I should have been more careful. I hadn’t, and now my sister was paying the price.

It was my turn to step out and pay out.

“So…the police.” My voice echoed loudly in the night as I came to a halt at the far end of the block, staring up at the street light. It surrounded me in a pool of yellowish light. Slowly, I turned back to stare toward the house where I lived with Papa. “It’s not an ideal plan.”

No.

It wasn’t ideal, but maybe it was a plan I could live with.

Joelle safe.

I wouldn’t have to keep hiding from my reflection every time I thought about Kian and his mother.

And if the clan threw me out?

I would be happy with that. These were people who were okay with forcing children to marry when they didn’t want to, people who were okay with locking children away when those children tried to get away from those marriages.

If they wanted to throw me out because I wanted something better for my sister, for myself, then that was just fucking fine with me.

I’d find something better on my own anyway. I’d find something better for my sister, and if Trice would let me, I’d help her find something better too.

I thought through my limited options.

Maybe I’d go to Catherine and Nicco. They already said they wanted to help us. Maybe they could help me now. And even if they couldn’t, in two years, Joelle would be an adult. I’d stay in touch with her, and with Trice, somehow. When Joelle was eighteen, the three of us could take off on our own.

And one thing was certain…Papa would never plan on me going to the cops. Or on me returning the money to Kian and his mother.

Determination began to take place of uncertainty, and I started to walk once more.