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I glanced at the map on my phone and lifted my gaze to the darkness. Building zero wasn’t just a building. It was a towering warehouse set back from the rest of the island. I hurried, leaving the path behind, and ran across the grass toward the faint light that shone through the rear door in the middle of the imposing structure.
But the closer I came, the more I realized this was no ordinary warehouse. The wide asphalt that stretched far into the distance toward the end of the island could only be for one thing…the island’s own private jet. My pulse raced as I hurried. I hadn't seen this before. I glanced over my shoulder at the faint sparkle of lights in the distance. Why would I have? It was far from everything I’d known. Not even the small cove I’d run to had been on this side. Not only was it far away from everything else, it was hidden in shadows.
I slowed my steps as fear took root inside me. All I could hear was Dad’s voice as he'd pleaded.I’ll go back…do you hear me? I’ll go back to Dominic. We didn’t tell them anything about the Salvatores. I swear!
Desperation forced me toward the dull light shining through the doorway. The closer I came, the more terror took hold. What if I was too late? What if the contact couldn’t save Dad? A sob lodged in my throat as I quickened my steps, running toward that doorway. They had to be here…they had to know of a way.
The moment my hand closed around the handle, something hard clamped around my mouth. I was yanked backwards, my feet dragging for a second before panic kicked in.No!I screamed, thrashing and fighting.
“Stop it, Ms. Shaw. Unless you don’t want to see your dad again.”
Ms. Shaw.Ms. Shaw.The only person who called me that was…the contact.
Instead of fighting, I stepped backwards, following him as he almost dragged me toward the far side of the building. I grabbed the thick, muscled arm for balance and risked a glance upwards. My stomach clenched as he looked over his shoulder, then down at me.
“You?” I whispered.
He stopped, pulling me closer. “Me,” Mr. Former FBI acknowledged. He scowled and glanced toward the apartment buildings. “Were you followed?”
Was I followed? “No,” I answered, my mind instantly shifting to Finley. “No, I wasn’t followed.”
Pain drove through my chest as I brushed off my jeans and took a step backwards, desperate for a little distance. He just glared down at my bare feet. “Where the hell are your shoes?”
“Where are my shoes?” I forced through clenched teeth. “Where are my goddamn shoes? How about, where thefuckis my father?”
He just lifted his gaze to mine, and the memory of that first class came roaring back to me. The day he’d called Finley and the others down to the front of the class…for the so calledinitiation,and the way he'd so carefully brushed me aside. “You knew about it all, didn’t you? The initiation, the Commission. You knew who we were…and who we worked for.”
“I knew enough to know you needed help,” he responded. “And if you don’t get inside the building, you’re going to need more than I can deliver.”
It all made sense now. Thecontactwho'd reached out to Dad…was FBI. He had to be. I opened my mouth to ask as he took a step, grabbed my arm, and shoved me forward. “Inside, now.”
“What’s the plan?” The words came out instead. “How are we going to get my father now?”
But he didn't answer, just shoved me step after step around the corner of the hangar and toward the front. The moment I left the rear of the building behind, fear found me. I was out of sight from the others now …from Fin.Lightning tore across the sky again as I put my head down and stepped onto the asphalt.
“Over there!” he barked in my ear, fighting the roar of the wind. I lifted my gaze to a doorway, one that was all the way open, yet darkness waited for me inside. My feet stopped. I forced myself to turn. “Where is my dad?”
He just looked at me with confusion before jerking his gaze ahead. “Inside and I’ll tell you the fucking plan, nowmove!”
I’ll go back…do you hear me? I’ll go back to Dominic.
Those words rang in my head. This was my only chance now. The only way to save Dad and get us away from these people and their goddamn lies and deceit. As fear gripped me, I took a step, fighting the gale, and headed for the doorway. Still that howl resounded in my head the moment I stepped inside.
Mr. FBI yanked the door closed behind him with aboom, leaving me standing in the dark. “Just keep walking,” he barked.
I was too far in now, way too far over my head to try to back out. I just glanced around, waiting for my eyes to adjust, and started walking toward the faint outline of a doorway.
“My dad.”
“Has been taken by one of your boyfriend's bodyguards. I thought that was plain to see.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I bit back.
“Sure looked that way to me.”
“But you can get him back, right?” I asked hopefully.
He was silent for a second, the thud of his boots matching the throbbing of my pulse. I stepped through the doorway and into a room. The thud of a door came and a second later, a light was switched on. We were in an office of some kind. The light from a desk lamp showed a desk and chairs inside the small room. One nod toward it, and Mr. FBI commanded, “Sit, and don’t move.”
