“Because no one but Masenak and Reardon would want to kill them,” Sasha whispered. “Because we can save them. They won’t be able to hurt anyone anymore.”

“It’s a big chance. I’m letting you run such a risk. Please say no. I don’t want you to do this.”

“I know you don’t. But this is what I want, and you gave it to me. I can’t let you take it away. If you hadn’t found this way, then I might have been on that helicopter tonight and I couldn’t bear it. And I’m not the only one running risks.” Alisa didn’t answer, and Sasha said softly, “Stop worrying. You’re smart, and you’re not going to let anything bad happen. You’ve told me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it. If anything changes, I know you’ll find a way to let me know.” But she didn’t want to talk about things going wrong when Alisa was this upset and added quickly, “I have to hang up now. It’s almost dawn and someone might come in to check on me.”

“Because they want to reassure themselves that they haven’t damaged you?” she asked sarcastically. “I want to know, too. How are you, Sasha?”

“Sore. But otherwise I’m fine. Bye, Alisa.” She cut the connection.

She sat back on her heels and took an instant to try to pull herself together. She had not expected that call from Alisa, which had sent her spiraling from depression to hope in the space of a few minutes. But the hope had come, and now she had to do everything possible to make all Alisa and Korgan’s plans a reality.

She got to her feet and moved over toward Chaos. She turned the phone off and ducked into his stall. One last time to hide this phone away. She only hoped she would never need it again.

She stopped as she was leaving and leaned her head against Chaos. Nightshade had recovered quickly, but Chaos had been terribly upset. He had been quiet all night, but now he pressed against her as if trying to comfort. She slipped her arms around his neck. Very bad night, my friend. She could feel the tears sting her eyes. But I promise today will be better.

*  *  *

“It’s set,” Alisa said as she turned to Korgan. “She’s going to do it. Though who knows why. Make your plans.”

“She’s doing it because she trusts you,” Korgan said quietly. “And she should. Because there’s a good chance we can pull this off.”

“Not a good chance the way it stands.” Her hands clenched at her sides. “So many things can go wrong and she’d be lost. We need a backup plan.”

“I’m listening.”