If Sullivan had left the scene on his own, he might not have had a chance to confess to Russell Sherman or to anyone else that he had failed to take care of the Molly problem. But if he’d had help—if he was dead—then interest in Molly would have spiked.

So it was possible.

His computer pinged. He had a response from Steven, who was a night owl. He clicked on the email, which said: “What’s up? Need help?”

He replied rapidly. “Unclear. I brought subject back to the safe house. I didn’t consider her phone’s GPS until too late. Would the protection spells block traces?” When he finished composing, he hit Send.

His email pinged again. Steven had written: “Let me think. I’ll get back to you in a sec.”

He sat back, arms crossed, and waited while he watched the screens. In the far corner of the property, a possum trundled past the security camera.

Another email came through. He clicked Open. Steven had written: “You should be good while you’re in the basement. But you’d be vulnerable before and after. My best advice—destroy the phone card ASAP.”

“Already done,” he typed. And he hadn’t wasted any time when he had brought Molly here. He thought of the speed with which he had gotten her under cover and relaxed slightly. “Thanks and have a good night.”

The risk was minimal enough that it wasn’t worth moving her again. She was as safe as he could make her tonight.

He pushed to his feet and locked the door of the room as he stepped out. When he checked the bedroom, Molly lay still and quiet. It was time to head back into the city.

He paused just before climbing into the car and looked at the quiet country scene. Moonlight illuminated the back of the dark house. It was a creepy, isolated setting, and he didn’t like leaving her like this, but that was no reason to stay. She was hidden, and she had all her essential needs met. She wasn’t going to die.

She messed with his head too much.

Swearing under his breath, he drove away. First item on the agenda was to drive through the neighborhood of her rental. He did so with disciplined patience, all his senses wide open. It was close to three in the morning, and there were a few houses still lit where people were active, but most were dark and peaceful. The last thing he did was park the car and walk over a few blocks to the rental itself.

Everything looked as it had when he had last seen it. The Jeep still sat where Molly had parked it. He scanned the vehicle for magic but didn’t find anything. He eased up the stairs to the rental to test the door. It was locked, the interior dark and silent. The location appeared to be secure.