Fifteen minutes of silence was enough.

“Where are we going?”

“To get some pancakes,” Frank replied.

* * *

Frank sat in monklike silence as they ate a leisurely breakfast at a cash-only diner located less than a mile from the hotel. The only time he addressed her was to tell her how much she owed for her half of the bill.

She followed Frank back to the car, her stomach full to the point of being uncomfortable. She had stuffed herself on purpose so she would not only be alert but also have enough fuel to help her get through whatever was going to happen next.

What was going to happen next? She didn’t know, and not knowing was making her second-guess her earlier decision to force Frank’s hand. He didn’t appear angry, but with Frank it was hard to say, the guy as expressive as a chunk of unmolded clay.

Ellie slid back into the passenger seat, reminding herself that she wasn’t alone. Roland’s people were watching. They wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Frank remained quiet and appeared relaxed during the hour-plus drive out of the city—acted as though she wasn’t in the car. Ellie kept a close eye on her surroundings, especially when Frank took the exit for Long Beach.

Ellie followed the street signs all the way to their destination: 184 Palermo Avenue. A wrought iron gate covered the end of the driveway. The gate opened, and Frank drove toward a spacious Spanish Revival house with plantation shutters and meticulously manicured shrubs. It sat alone on top of a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Alamitos Bay, more of a small compound than a home, she thought—the sort of place where power brokers could meet and discuss things openly without having to worry about the prying eyes and ears of neighbors.

Has to be Sebastian’s house. Ellie had no way of knowing. The bay door of the three-car garage on the west side of the house was already open. There wasn’t another car parked in there—there wasn’t anything—and after Frank pulled inside and came to a smooth stop, the garage door was already closing behind them as he killed the engine, Ellie looked around the garage, wondering why it was so empty. It made her reconsider her choice to meet Sebastian here, on his home turf, instead of a more neutral location.

Frank had already gotten out of the car. He moved around to the other side and opened the door for her. He didn’t ask her to get out. He reached inside and viciously grabbed her by the arm, his fingers digging deep into the meat of her bicep and finding bone as he yanked her out of the seat.