I nodded, and then went to open the door for Raphael before he could knock. I took the jeans, T-shirt, and boots from his hands. “Thanks for healing me. You did an awesome job.”

He gave me a faint yet blinding smile. “My pleasure. I’m glad to see you on your feet. Your car is waiting. Good luck.” He nodded at Malachi and disappeared.

I changed my clothes and pulled any remaining hairpins from my hair, letting it fall in loose curls around my shoulders. With Malachi on my heels, I went downstairs, retrieved my phone from the ruined clutch Malachi had been smart enough to remove from the SUV, and sent a text to the number scribbled on the crumpled paper my mother had given me at our meeting at the child welfare building.

I’m coming. Alone. In exchange for the girl.

The response was instant. You know where to find us. She will be released when we have you.

I gripped the phone hard. “They know we know where the nest is.”

Malachi followed me as I stalked out to the car, a black Hyundai that looked like it had seen better days. “I suspect they allowed Henry to survive on purpose. If they’d wanted to kill him, they could have.”

“Why didn’t they possess him?”

Malachi’s dark eyes glinted with anger. “You know why. They’ve set their sights on you, and they won’t give up until they have you.”

“Why me, though? It doesn’t make sense.”

“It makes perfect sense to me. You were everything they want in a human.”

I bristled as I backed along the driveway. “Because I look like an animal?”

“Because you look like exactly what you are. Wild and fierce and strong. Unstoppable and unbreakable. Beautiful and dangerous.” He laughed quietly to himself and touched a loose lock of my hair. “You’re everything I want in a human, too.”

I drove toward Providence. The latest nest was apparently in an abandoned nightclub down by the river. Malachi silently stared out the window as we got off the interstate and threaded our way along the city streets, toward the waterfront. I parked several blocks away and texted Jim, letting him know we were close.

By the water meet you in five, came his response.

It took us slightly longer than that to reach them, as we stuck close to the buildings and kept a careful eye out for scouts who might spot us together. Henry and Jim were crouched behind a concrete wall at the edge of the property. Above us loomed the nightclub, three stories high, ramshackle steps leading down to the pier below. Jagged shards clinging like loose teeth to their frames were all that remained of the once huge windows. A dim, flickering glow emanated from the upper floor. A candle. And, of course, a thick haze of incense hung over the place.