“Park over on the right side.”

I nodded, steering the car smoothly over to the curb and squeezing into one of the few spots available. Saying space was hard to find in the city dome was like saying the desert was dry.

Once parked, I stepped out, looking around at one of the many sketchy streets that we’d already searched. Frustration was a constant companion as we continued from block to block.

I couldn’t fault Jacob for the meticulousness with which he’d planned everything, the thoroughness of the search time-consuming but necessary.

I had to force patience onto myself. Rushing might result in missing something important, and Jacob looked like he was just the man to have for something like this.

It seemed as if he had a contact on almost every street, almost in every building.

This one was no exception.

As we walked into the lobby of the rundown apartment building, I blinked to help my eyes adjust to the dim interior. Walking into these places with compromised vision was not fun, but we didn’t have to go in very far.

A small, slim man appeared out of the thick shadows under the rickety stairs.

“Deon,” Jacob acknowledged, not at all surprised.

“I hear you’re looking for information,” the man greeted in a low, hoarse voice, his eyes glancing at me without interest before locking back onto Jacob.

“I am,” Jacob agreed. “Do you have anything for me?”

The man got a sly look in his eyes. “How much are you paying?” he asked, reaching into his pocket to pull out one of the cigarettes that were supposed to be outlawed.

There were a lot of things that were supposed to be outlawed. Funny thing, that. People just went ahead and did what they wanted any way, most times.

“The usual,” Jacob replied easily. “And if you give me any false information, you know I’ll find you,” he added without changing his tone.

The warning was clear.

It didn’t catch the man off guard. He nodded, licking his chapped lips. “Everyone knows not to give you bad info,” he reassured Jacob.

I didn’t know how much reassurance someone like that could actually provide. He looked like he was on much harder stuff than cigarettes just those cigarettes. Stuff that had likely never been legal.

“I’ve heard rumors of slick operation,” he admitted, taking another step closer and lowering his already low voice until I was straining to hear him from only feet away. I caught a whiff of unwashed human. “They’ve taken over one of the warehouses. Apparently, word is not to try anything. They have a watch on it twenty-four seven.”

My heart skipped a beat. It could be nothing. But…

Jacob and I looked at each other.

“Do you know which warehouse? That’s a large chunk of area you’re telling us about,” Jacob said. “Not very helpful.”

The man shrugged. “All I know is that it’s a warehouse. You’ll have to figure the rest out yourself,” he said shortly.

Jacob nodded. “Fair enough. Do you have a timeline on when they took it over?”

The man shrugged. His gaze unfocused a little as he looked at something over my shoulder. When I turned to look in that direction, I didn’t see anything that could have caught his eye. Whatever he was on, it must have been making them see things that weren’t there.

This was not someone whom I would normally rely on for anything, but our pickings were slim. I was willing to take the chance. If this wasn’t it, we’d be no worse off than we were right now.

“About a week ago,” he replied readily enough, his eyes focusing again. “Though apparently there’s been more activity going on recently.”

“Where are you getting your information from?” Jacob asked. “Is the source reliable?”

The man hesitated. “That’s extra,” he said, shifting his feet.

“That’s fine. I’ll double the amount,” Jacob offered, his eyes sharp. “Who told you?”

“Fine. Be you didn’t hear it from me,” he snapped. “I don’t want to be blacklisted.”

“Understood.”

He sighed, still figuratively dragging his feet. He didn’t want to give up his source.

His need for money won out in the end. “Mitchell was hired to do their IDs,” he admitted. “They hired him for a couple other things too.”

“Do you know who they are?”

Deon shook his head. “Strangers. Nobody’s ever heard of them.”

That was a good sign.

Jacob nodded. Raising his watch, he tapped on the screen a few times.

“I just transferred the amount we agreed on. If you have anything else to tell me, you know how to get in touch.”

The man raised his scrawny arm, his blue sweater sliding back to show us the state of the art watch on his wrist. I wouldn’t have expected it from his worn and patched clothes. Perhaps those were another kind of camouflage. It wouldn’t be smart to be hanging around this area looking like you had money.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” he said after he’d verified the deposit.

Then he melted right back into the shadows he’d come out from. If I hadn’t seen him step back, I wouldn’t have known anyone was even there.

Jacob jerked his head towards the door and turned to leave the building. I followed him out.

“Where to now?” I asked. We hadn’t gotten a specific place.

“To see Mitchell,” Jacob said grimly. “The warehouse district is huge. If we can get a more specific location or at least a quadrant to search in, it will be a lot more efficient. And I don’t particularly want to be there longer than necessary. Bad shit goes down there.” He shook his head. “Mitchell isn’t going to want to talk to me about this. I’ll have to persuade him. Hopefully money will do the job.”

I nodded. If it didn’t, I wasn’t above scaring the man.

I felt so close now that I could almost taste it. Nobody would get in my way.

When we got back to the car, there were a couple of kids hanging around it, obviously not thinking angelic thoughts. Jacob gave the teenagers a look and they scuttled away immediately at the sight of us.

Smart. I was guessing idiots didn’t last long here.

“This isn’t the best place to leave a car,” he remarked.

I nodded, sliding into the driver’s side. “At least it’s still intact,” I observed wryly.

“Wouldn’t have been in another five minutes or so,” Jacob remarked.

Good to know. Best to keep moving.

Before I could start the engine, I heard the ding of an incoming message, and I tapped on my watch to check who it was.

An unfamiliar name.

“What is it?” Jacob asked.

“A message from someone I don’t know,” I muttered, opening it.

This is Siro.

I was with Adara but she managed to help get me out of there. She is being held in a warehouse right now.

We need help.

I’m at a cafe named…

I quickly read through the message, adrenaline spiking. Then I read the message out loud to Jacob.

“Do you know where it is?” I asked, looking over at him.

He nodded.

I shot back a message to Siro letting her know we were in the dome and on our way.

“Go straight ahead and then take a right,” Jacob told me as soon as I was done.

I followed his directions to a much better part of town, resisting the urge to weave in and out of traffic. Being pulled over by the police could be a costly delay.I also didn’t relish having my ID scrutinized, though it should’ve held up.

The cafe was on a busy street, the sidewalks heavy with foot traffic.

Smart. She was using the crowd to hide. I was sure whoever she’d escaped from was out looking for her, but the chances of finding her in this were slim.

Finding a parking spot was torture, but we eventually found one a couple blocks away. We practically ran down the sidewalk to the cafe. We were inside within twenty minutes of receiving the message.

I searched the interior, looking for the distinctive head of curly dark hair from the picture I’d seen.

I found her in the back, squeezed into a corner with a couple of teenage boys crowding her. I didn’t like their body language at all.

My eyes narrowed and Jacob muttered something unpleasant under his breath. We shoved our way through the crowd.

“I let you use my phone. I think that deserves something a little more than a ’thank you,’” the boy who was sitting next to her remarked, his eyes raking over her.

He was tall and had the beginnings of muscle on that still slender frame. Probably just started hitting the gym. His new sneakers and the bling visible at his wrist also let me know that this boy came from money. This probably explained why he felt he could be an entitled asshole; he was someone used to having everything handed to him.

His friend seemed like the kind to just go along with whatever the asshole did. I’d seen it before. Some weaker personalities felt the urge to bask in the glory of others.

I saw the first boy lean in closer as we neared, as well as Siro’s disgusted, uncomfortable expression.

Yeah, that was more than enough.

I set my hand down on the jerk’s thin shoulder.

The boy frowned at it, shrugging my hand off as he looked over his shoulder. “Let me the fuck go, asshole,” he muttered.

Then he got a good look at me and at Jacob behind me.

I saw him take a mental step back. Good.

“I think you need to leave,” I said silkily. “You too,” I said to the kid’s friend.

The first kid opened his mouth to argue.

“I wouldn’t,” Jacob interjected, crossing his arms, displaying the bulge of muscle there.

“Come on man,” the friend said uneasily, his eyes looking at us and rightly coming up with the conclusion that we were a bigger threat than they wanted to fight. “She’s not worth it.”

“You just tell yourselves that,” I murmured, watching them with a level look.

The boy’s face tightened, but he slid off the stool and slunk away, muttering something under his breath. When they were near the exit, I turned my attention back to Siro.

“Siro?” I asked.

She was looking over at the boys, but the sound of her name caught her attention. Her eyes widened as she recognized me. “Yes. King Sven?” she asked hopefully.

“I got your message,” I confirmed, taking the recently vacated seat. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, hunching her shoulders. Her face looked drawn and tired; it was no wonder, with what they’d been through. “I’m fine. They didn’t do anything to me.”

I nodded, my gut tightening at the emphasis on that last bit. I was guessing that meant Adara hadn’t been as fortunate.

“Think you could lead me to the place?”

“Yes,” she said. “I memorized the turns here to make sure I could.”

“Good,” I said, reaching out to set my hand over the trembling one she had on the counter. “We’re going to get Adara out. Then we’ll get you back safely to your parents. That’s a promise.”

She nodded, squaring her shoulders and looking up at me and then Jacob. “Okay,” she said. “Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Adara… she’s getting weaker. They’ve been draining her nonstop since they got her here,” she explained, her eyes pained.

“Draining her?” I asked sharply, though I was worried I knew exactly what she meant.

She nodded. “Drawing her blood,” she explained. “I don’t know what for or why they need so much.”

My stomach tightened. I’d been worried that this was why they’d taken her: because of what she was, not just because of her connection to me.

It wasn’t a surprise. But it wasn’t great news either.

“Okay. Tell us everything you know,” I ordered in a low voice.

She did. She’d been paying very close attention.