Jared’s eyes swept the room, and I noticed Claire was on alert, as well. They kept close, both of them in contact with my arms as we walked. Just before the elevator opened to the sub-floor, I noticed a break in Claire’s breathing. It was completely silent for a fraction of a second until the doors slid open to a large, empty room.

Claire quietly exhaled and Jared gripped my arm, cautiously pulling me forward. We went through the tedious procedure to gain access to the vault while Claire nonchalantly glanced around the perimeter. Her ice blue eyes would miss nothing.

“You put the paper in the safe, Jared,” I whispered. “We don’t know the combination.”

“I know it,” he said, shoving the key into the lock.

I looked over at Claire, whose eyes focused on the closing vault. Once it closed, she looked up and slowly scanned the ceiling.

“What is it, Claire?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she murmured. “Something.”

Jared kept the book under his arm on the return trip to the loft. He escorted me to the end of the alley and then leaned down to kiss me goodbye. Before our lips touched, he looked up as if he sensed something around us.

“I should go. It’s already attracting them.”

I clenched his jacket. “I don’t want you to go alone.”

“Claire needs to stay here with you. I can’t leave you unprotected.”

“What about Bex? Can’t he stay here with me?” I asked, searching his face as my mind raced to find an alternative.

“Bex is with Lillian,” he said. I immediately understood his indicative reply; he was covering all the bases.

“Jared.…” I said, tightening my grip.

He pulled me to him. “If we wait much longer, they’ll come to us, and we don’t want that. This is our only option.”

I leaned back and closed my eyes, shaking my head. “There has to be another way. There has to be—,”

Jared cupped my jaw and his thumb brushed my cheek. “As long as your heart is beating, so is mine.”

I tried to forge a brave expression on my face. “I love you.”

Jared’s eyes grew soft and the corners of his mouth moved upward. “I love you. I’ll see you soon.”

Claire gently rested her warm hands on my shoulders as we watched him pull from the curb and then disappear around a corner down the street.

I felt my insides wrench. “Tell me he’s going to be all right.”

Claire turned me to face her and grinned. “I wasn’t overdoing it, earlier. He will come back. And if they piss him off, he’ll come back with a few demon notches in his belt. Jared doesn’t know how to fail.”

We walked upstairs and I sat on the couch, trying to relax so Jared wouldn’t be distracted by my fear.

Claire sat beside me, fidgeting.