She takes his hand. “I’m here because I care. I’m here because I can help you.”

“Another lie.” He looks at her, his dark eyes glistening in the moonlight. “Borgia got to you, didn’t he? He’s consumed with hatred toward my family, The man will say or do anything to get me back. How did he threaten you?”

She looks away.

“What did he promise you? Tell me what he said.”

“You want to know what he said?” She turns and glares at him, the anger rising in her voice. “He arrested Edie. He said the two of us will spend a long time in prison for our part in releasing you.”

“Damn. I’m sorry—”

“Borgia promised he’d drop the charges against both of us if I found you. He gave me a week. If I fail, Edie and I both go to prison.”

“Bastard.”

“Mick, it’s not all bad. Dr. Foletta agreed to place me in charge of your care.”

“Foletta, too? Oh, Christ—”

“You’ll be taken to the new facility in Tampa. No more isolation. From now on, a board certified team of psychiatrists and clinicians will work with you. They’ll get you the care you need. Before you know it, we’ll have you on a drug-therapy program that will put you back in control of your own thoughts. No more asylums, and no more living in Mexican jungles as a fugitive. Eventually you’ll be able to lead a normal, productive life.”

“Gee, you make it sound so wonderful,” he says sarcastically. “And Tampa’s so close to Sanibel Island, too. Did Foletta throw in full medical? How about your own parking spot?”

“I’m not doing this for me, Mick, I’m doing it for you. This might turn out to be the best thing that could’ve happened.”

He shakes his head sadly. “Dom, it’s you who can’t see the forest for the trees.” He reaches down and pulls her to her feet, pointing to the heavens. “Can you see that dark line paralleling the Great Ball Court? That’s the dark rift of the Milky Way, the equivalent of our Galactic Equator. Once every 25,800 years, the Sun moves into alignment at its center point. The exact date of that precise alignment comes in eleven days. Eleven days, Dominique. On that day, the day of the winter solstice, a cosmic portal will open, allowing a malevolent force access into our world. By the end of the day, you, me, Edie, Borgia, and every living soul on this planet will be dead—unless we can locate the hidden entrance into this pyramid.”