There was so much Sera still didn’t understand...

“Ideas?” Ian glanced at each of us, but Sera didn’t know the city, I’d spent very little time there myself, and Kori seemed reluctant to say whatever she was thinking aloud, where Mitch would hear her. Finally, she leaned toward Ian and stood on her toes to whisper into his ear.

When she dropped onto the balls of her feet again he met her gaze with his brows raised. “Seriously?”

“You got a better idea?”

Before I could ask what the hell they were talking about, Ian shrugged, and Kori turned to me, then motioned for me to bend so she could whisper into my ear. She gave me an address, but it took me a second to realize why Ian was surprised by it. We were going to the east side. Cavazos’s territory.

“Can you find the place?” Kori said before I could ask the questions ready to tumble from my tongue.

I nodded. “But what about—”

“Just try to keep it quiet,” she interrupted, before I could finish my question. “With Sera there to jam us, no one will know we’re there, unless you announce it.”

Sera looked bewildered, but obviously understood that we couldn’t give her an explanation in front of Mitch.

I pushed my sleeve up and laid her hand on my right arm, so that her fingers touched my skin. I really wanted to hold her hand, but it wasn’t the time. Or the place. Or more than remotely likely to happen. Then I clicked off the safety on my gun, and though it felt strange to be touching both Sera and a weapon at the same time, I aimed right-handed at Mitch and pinned him with a scowl. “You so much as twitch on the way and I’ll blow a hole right through you.”

Before he could answer, I grabbed his wrist, touching as little of his flesh as possible, and nodded at Ian, who turned off the lights. I tugged both Sera and Mitch forward before either of them could object or ask anything, and a couple of steps later our shoes landed on thick carpet.

Even the sound of our breathing was different in this new room, muffled by carpet and furniture I could hardly make out in the darkness.

I let go of Mitch as soon as I was sure we were in the right place, but Sera’s hand didn’t leave my arm as I tugged her to the side—out of Kori’s path—and I made no move to disengage from her hand.

A second later, the quality of the air changed and two new, connected shadows stepped out of the greater darkness, their shoes whispering against the carpet. “Kris?” Kori said.

“Yeah.” Sera started to let go of my arm, but I put my free hand over hers and squeezed, a silent comfort in the dark.

“There’s a light switch between the door and the window. To your left.”

I turned and made out the rectangle of pale light outlining a drape-covered window, then felt on the wall for a switch. My fingers found it and flipped the switch on, and light flooded the room to reveal a small but expensively furnished apartment around us.

“Where are we?” Sera’s gaze hardly skirted Mitch as she took in our surroundings.

“One of Ruben Cavazos’s apartments on the east side,” Kori said. “It was supposed to be his love-shack for Liv, but she never gave it up. To him, anyway.”

The rest of us objected all at once.

“Shh!” She glanced at the walls. “You want the neighbors to hear?”

“Kori, this won’t work,” Ian said, practically tearing the words from my own tongue. “This is suicide.”

“Bullshit. It’s perfect. Cavazos has no idea we’re here, and Julia would never think to look on the east side. And she can’t track us, as long as we have Sera.” Her hard gaze took in Mitch’s astonished face, then slid to Sera. “Tell him never to mention this.”

Sera let go of my arm and caught Mitch’s gaze. “Don’t ever mention this apartment to anyone. Or tell anyone we were on the east side,” she added as an afterthought.

Mitch nodded, his jaw clenched in anger. Or frustration. Or both.

“Okay.” I glanced around the apartment, taking in the galley-style kitchen, open dining area and hallway presumably leading to a bedroom and bathroom. “This will work, for the next half hour, at least.” It was better than getting caught and slaughtered at Julia’s warehouse.

I caught Mitch’s attention and pointed at the table, which only had four chairs. “Sit. In the corner, where we can all see you.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, silently refusing to move until Sera rolled her eyes and said, “Do it.”

Mitch mumbled something angry and profane, but took the seat I’d pointed out. I sat in the chair across from him and pulled another one out next to mine for Sera. Ian took the fourth chair while Kori dug around for something in the kitchen.

“Okay. So you’re Jake Tower’s biological daughter,” Ian said, picking up the discussion almost exactly where we’d left it in the warehouse.

Sera set Mitch’s gun on the table, out of his immediate reach and picked at the fingernails of her left hand. “According to Julia, I’m his bastard.”

He gave her an infectious grin. “That means little, coming from a world-class bitch.”

Sera smiled, but I couldn’t really enjoy the sight because my mind had already kicked into overdrive. “That’s how you got in to see her,” I said, thinking aloud, and Sera practically squirmed with discomfort. “You’re family.”

“Of the illegitimate, publicly embarrassing sort, yes.”