I thought about that. Maybe they weren't sure they could get me alone and had planned to lure me here with Dani as the bait, but instead I'd entered an empty stairwell in my hurry to see my mother.

"Did the man say anything to you besides wanting the password?" I asked.

"He just said I wouldn't be alone for long. His voice was deep and menacing but it also sounded happy, like he was excited about what was happening. Do you know what time it is? I've lost track of everything."

"It was probably around one thirty when someone grabbed me." I turned around. "Can you see my watch?"

"It's two," Dani said.

"Then I wasn't out that long, and we can't be that far away from the hospital," I mused.

"Do you know what they want?"

I thought for a moment. Only one answer came to mind. "I think we're leverage."

"What does that mean?"

"Mom was part of a robbery crew before we were born. Maybe our aunt, too. I don't know. They stole diamonds, cash, and art from some wealthy collector. A security guard died during the robbery. I think Mom and Rachel have been running ever since then."

Dani's eyes widened in shock. "Mom was a thief?"

"I think she was a lot of things, and that was one of them. I was going to the hospital to talk to her, to finally get answers when they grabbed me." I paused, trying to think through the pain in my throbbing head. "But even without talking to her, I know a lot more now. Mom and Rachel went on the run after that robbery. At some point, they split up. Mom had us and married Dad. For seven years we had normal lives. Then something happened to change that. Mom went to New Orleans, probably to meet Rachel, disappeared, and faked her death. She couldn't come back to us without putting us in danger, too. She was able to stay hidden for a long time, until she saved a man's life, and her picture was on the news."

"What do they want now? Why are we even still alive? Why didn't they just kill us to get back at her?" Dani asked.

"Because they want the diamonds and the other stones. That's why they tore Mom's house apart. But they didn't find what they were looking for, so they needed incentive. They're going to use us to get Mom and Rachel to talk, to tell them where the jewels are," I said, as more pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

"And then they'll let us go?" Dani asked hopefully.

I couldn't dash that hope, even though it seemed incredibly unlikely. "Maybe, but we need to try to escape before they come back."

"How the hell are we going to do that?"

"We can stand up. We can try to jump whoever comes through that door next."