“Hello, Adrian,” said Lissa.

“Were you waiting by the phone for me?” I teased.

“I was waiting for Christian to call me, actually. But I’d rather hear from you—at least if you’re calling to say you’ve got Jill.”

“Afraid not,” I said, feeling a pang at the loss. “But I’ve got some news that might be of use. We have good evidence that the Warriors of Light are holding Jill.”

Lissa clearly hadn’t expected that. “What? I thought it was some witch who hated Sydney. If the Warriors have her, then this isn’t just about some vendetta anymore. Those people like to kill vampires for fun.”

“It sounds like Alicia gave Jill to them for holding. Now Sydney has a convoluted plan to try to find out where Jill’s being held, but if the Alchemists could put some pressure on the Warriors instead, it’d save us a lot of trouble,” I told her. “The only problem is, Sydney can’t exactly call them up and ask.”

“But I can,” guessed Lissa.

“You’re very charming and persuasive,” I told her. “Plus you’ve got a little bit more influence than we do.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she replied, sounding exhausted at the thought. I didn’t blame her. Diplomacy would exhaust me too, especially when dealing with assholes like the Alchemists. “They’re going to want to know what ‘good evidence’ we’ve got.”

I hesitated, thinking of Sabrina. “We can’t exactly give our source up. Can you just tell them it’s an anonymous tip and have them look into that?”

“I’ll try,” said Lissa. “But you know how they are.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “I certainly do. Good luck—and thanks.”

“Nothing to thank me for. Jill’s my sister.”

I disconnected and was just in time to see Sydney drive right past the apartment complex Marcus had indicated. “Hey,” I said, recognizing it from my Carlton days. “You missed it.”

Her expression had darkened. “I didn’t miss the guys in suits snooping around the side of the building.” Her eyes lifted to the rearview mirror, and she sighed. “Or the black car that just peeled out of the building’s lot and is now following us.”

“Damn it,” said Marcus. “They found out I came to town. I thought that place was secure.”

I turned in my seat, craning my neck to see what Sydney had. Sure enough, a black Escalade was doing some pretty aggressive maneuvering to get into our lane. Sydney made an abrupt turn that caused me to grip the door, and the Escalade followed suit. The precious, fragile sense of freedom I’d allowed myself to enjoy since leaving Court dissipated like smoke on the wind.

“Sorry, you guys,” said Marcus. “They must have spotted me when I came in this morning.”