Liam doesn’t drive far. When he stops the car outside a familiar black awning, I merely sigh and get out. He joins me on the curb and we walk silently to the black door. Three raps of his fist and the door opens.

“Master Liam,” greets the same, waifish doorman who let me in last time. “They’re waiting for you in back.”

“Thank you, Nathan.”

The whiskey glows warmly in my empty stomach as I follow Liam’s broad back through the padded door. The space is empty of patrons, almost sterile in the harsh glow of overhead lights.

In a distant corner, a vacuum whirs across rugs. It’s operated by a woman in sweats and headphones, her head bouncing to whatever music she’s listening to. Behind the long white bar, a shirtless man stocks bottles from boxes spread across the counter. As we walk past, he gives us a nod.

Liam strolls to a door in the far corner. White and set flush to the wall, it no doubt escapes notice when the club is open. Three more knocks of Liam’s fist and it swings inward.

Not until I see the woman before me do I accept that I’d been harboring hope. Hope that he’d found her, that he was planning to get us out of the country somehow. That everything would work out the way it was supposed to, with Alexis and me together and safe.

A harsh laugh sounds—mine, I belatedly realize.

The woman frowns concernedly at me. “Are you okay?”

London. Belongs to Master Dominic.

“She’s fine,” answers Liam curtly. “Dominic’s here?”

London nods and steps back. Liam’s hand touches my back, and I jerk away, into the hallway past the woman who isn’t my sister. Doors interrupt the walls to either side of me. Two on each. Liam doesn’t look my way as he maneuvers around me and walks to the last door on the left. He disappears inside.

I pause a few steps away and eye the emergency exit at the end of the hallway. How far can I run before he catches me?

Not far enough.

Behind me, London says, “I don’t know what sort of trouble you’re in, but there’s nowhere safer than with these men. Trust me.”

I’m not buzzed enough to miss the tone of personal testimony, but I don’t have the capacity to care. Whatever her story is, there’s no way it compares to the surreal shitshow that is my life.

“Eden,” calls Liam. “Come in, please.”

“Go on,” says London gently.

Sighing, I go.

* * *

Dominic, I come to find out, is one of Crossroads’s owners. He also has some shady habits—if the three handguns resting on a cloth atop his desk are any indication. There are also a selection of knives—none of which are intended for steak—and a few small canisters of what I can only speculate is professional-grade mace.

Sitting on a leather couch opposite the desk, I listen to the men discussing the various weapons. Liam eventually selects one of each. Dominic gives him a small duffle to put them in, as well as a box of ammo.

Then the men turn and look at me for the first time. Two sets of eyes—one blue, one brown—with the same self-awareness in them. They are predators. I am prey.

Only I’m not remotely in the mood.

“What?” I ask sharply.

Dominic’s brows lift in surprise; Liam’s lower in frustration. “Have you paid any attention at all?”

I make a show of looking around the elegant office. “I’m sorry, was I supposed to?”

“Lord,” mutters Dominic.

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ve got a brain and a mouth. So unbecoming.” I turn my glare on Liam. “Since I don’t have a say in what you’re planning, Mr. Puppet Master, I figured I’d just wait to be told what to do.”

He sighs. “Did you really think I wouldn’t come for you? That I wouldn’t be aware of every step you’ve taken in the last weeks?”

My anger is sudden and acidic. “So you just let Chris take me? Were you going to let him rape me, too?”

Hurt flashes in his eyes. “If you’d been in any real danger, I would have intervened.”

“Right,” I huff. “Like you would have intervened if the FBI had decided to lock me up as some sort of accomplice to my father’s many crimes.”

His jaw clenches. “It wouldn’t have happened.”

“Because you know everything, don’t you?” I scoff. “You lie, lie, lie because you think everyone is yours to control. It’s all a game to you, isn’t it? Do you know where Alexis is?”

“No,” he answers firmly. “Quite frankly, I don’t give a shit. Either she’ll make it into Canada or Mexico or she’ll get caught. Your sister is not without resources. Tell me, Eden—do you think she would have run if she wasn’t guilty?”

“How do you even—” I freeze in sick comprehension.

Liam’s gaze narrows. “Yes. I was there. I heard her give the order. In a rare act of civil service, I tracked down three other witnesses and put them in Agent Hernandez’s sights.”

“No, no, no,” I mumble, shaking my head. “She couldn’t have… she wouldn’t… you’re lying!”

“I’m sorry, Eden,” murmurs Liam. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that!” I yell.

Dominic steps forward, lifting his hands. “Okay, kids, let’s cool down.”

Liam gazes at me another moment, his eyes soft with apology, then straightens and turns to Dominic. “Your man got the package?”

He nods. “The money has been wired to the offshore account.”

Glancing between the men, I demand, “What package?”

Dominic stares at me like I’m certifiable. Liam asks me slowly, “Did you forget what else you hid with that USB stick?”

My jaw drops. Maybe I have lost my mind, because I’d completely forgotten.

“The diamonds,” I breathe, lurching forward. “You took the diamonds.”

He nods, lips curving gently. “I had them appraised. Dominic found a buyer. You’re quite rich, Eden. Would you like to know how much is in your Cook Islands account?”

I lick my lips. Do I want to know?

Who am I kidding?

“How much?”

“Roughly thirty-six million.”

I laugh.

Liam and Dominic don’t.

My mirth fades fast. “That’s ridiculous.” I glance between them. “Is this a joke?”

The men shake their heads.

My head swims. “Oh no, I think I’m—”

Liam shoves a trash can under my face just in time.