“I know.” Diesel knew that Deacon and Faith would have protected those kids with their lives. “But Faith is Stone’s family. She needs to be at the hospital, for Jeremy if nobody else. If it was you in the hospital, Adam, Dani would want the same.” He knew that Faith was as close to her cousins, Stone and Marcus, as Dani and Deacon were to their cousin Adam. Cousins were more like siblings in their circle of friends. “Those boys are legally Dani’s responsibility. They’re morally my responsibility. And Dani is just mine, so I go where she goes.”

“The big ones always fall the hardest, y’know?” But Adam grinned, clearly happy with the change.

Dani ignored him, her focus on Diesel as a smile curved her lips. “Thank you.”

Diesel felt his own mouth curve of its own volition. “Anytime.”

Adam cleared his throat, reclaiming their attention. “Pack a bag, Diesel. I’m your chauffeur tonight.”

“Where are we going?” Dani asked.

“Where we always go,” Adam told her with a grin. “You’re movin’ on up, Dani.”

That told Diesel exactly where they were going—a condo belonging to one of Adam’s friends. The guy was always out of the country, so he let Adam use the place whenever he needed it. It was the penthouse floor of an exclusive tower in Mount Adams. The condo was luxurious, the view of the river phenomenal.

“I’ll need my laptop,” Diesel said cautiously.

Adam nodded once. “The network’s secure. And private.”

Translation: Do what you need to do. Diesel felt pride knowing he’d earned the detective’s trust.

“I’ll be right back.” He released his hold on Dani, placing his trust in Adam to keep her safe until he’d returned.

Cincinnati, Ohio
Monday, March 18, 4:15 a.m.

It wasn’t a great plan, Cade conceded, but he was running out of time. He’d cut two boxes that had once held toilet paper, taping them together to form one large hollow box that still looked like two boxes sitting next to each other. On top of the hollow box, he’d stacked others holding what the labels claimed.

“It’ll be snug, but I think Junior and I will fit.” It was unlikely that the police would come into the house, but he wanted to be prepared in case they did. If the cops searched the garage, all they’d find would be a tiny Honda Civic and a bunch of boxes. Luckily, Evelyn bought everything in bulk.

“What if Jimmy cries?” Evelyn asked, her voice shaking.

Cade gave her his best extra-cruel smile, the one he practiced on his father when the nursing home staff wasn’t looking. “Let’s hope he doesn’t.”