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She stared at the screens, swallowed, and dialed the number, her gaze flickering to the time. It was almost four o’clock. Her stomach clenched at going out this early in the day.
It wasn’t like she had never gone out during the daylight hours. There had been times when moving during the day had been necessary, but it had been a while and she always felt exposed.
“Hello.”
“Junayd… I need your help,” Midnight said, holding her breath.
“Where are you? Are you in danger?” he immediately responded.
“No, I can come to you… if you don’t mind,” she replied.
“Let me come get you. Where are you?” he asked.
Midnight bit her fingernail and looked around her home. She and Junebug had never allowed anyone… ANYONE… inside their home. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, hoping she wasn’t making a huge mistake.
“Come to the wall under the bridge. Try... not to be seen... if you can. I'll meet you there,” she said.
“I’ll be there in thirty minutes,” he promised.
“Thank you.”
She disconnected the call. Her stomach churned with nerves. She tried contacting Junebug again, but the cheerful message was the same. Junebug’s excited voice announced she was busy trying to save the world.
Tears blurred her vision when her foot kicked one of Junebug’s big bunny slippers. She picked them up and hugged them to her chest.
God help anyone who might hurt her little sister. She wiped a tear from her cheek.
“Please, please let her be safe,” she whispered.
Thirteen
A half hour later, Junayd arrived at the spot across from the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. Office buildings and a university lined one side of the street while the bridge with a series of open vaults under construction lined the other. A city bus went by, followed by a number of cars.
Yahya opened the back door of the black SUV and nodded to him in greeting. He slid out of the car and pulled his gloves on. The weather was gray, overcast, and cold.
“Where did she disappear?” he asked.
“Go through the gate. Fourth section down, you’ll see a plain brick wall with a slight alcove between two vaults under reconstruction. One second she was there, the next she was gone. Around five this morning, a blonde woman carrying a backpack suddenly appeared and stepped into a ride-share further down the street. She wasn’t your lady, so I didn’t follow her.”
Junayd nodded. “Wait here. I’ll be back.”
Yahya bowed his head, but he didn’t look happy. Ziya stood beside their second car, looking just as unhappy about letting him out of their sight.
Junayd strode across the street as a light drizzle began. The wind whipped the moisture straight through his coat. It worked to his advantage as the construction workers struggled to focus on their tasks with poor visibility, cold hands, and slippery conditions. Junayd slipped into the alcove unseen, sheltered from the freezing rain now. He pressed his back against the brick façade and scanned the area for Midnight.
He started when the wall behind him suddenly moved. A slender hand reached out, gripped his arm, and pulled him through the gap. His breath caught when the wall closed again, sealing them in a narrow space. Before he could ask what was going on, the wall behind them opened into a brightly lit cavernous vault.
“Thank you for coming,” she said.
He shrugged off his damp coat and hooked it on a peg on the wall before pulling her into his arms. He buried his face against her hair, holding her and breathing in her calming scent. He briefly closed his eyes when she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him in return.
“What do you need?” he asked.
"I need to find my sister,” she said.
"Your sister," he said with surprise. "The person who needs you."
Midnight nodded.
