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Contents ( 39)
  1. Titles by Karen Rose
  2. CONTENTS
  3. PROLOGUE
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. EPILOGUE
  37. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  38. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  39. What’s next on your reading list?

“I did what any of you would have done.”

“We’re still grateful. What’s up, Liza?”

That Daisy got to the point wasn’t a surprise. Their friendship was a cordial one, but not on the same level as Liza and Mercy’s. “It’s Mercy.”

“What’s wrong? Has DJ tried again?”

“No, it’s nothing physical,” Liza assured her. “This whole situation is starting to get to her.” She would not share Mercy’s desire to make herself bait. That had been said in confidence. “I know Tom got a few leads today, but everything is still moving too slowly, and Mercy’s going stir-crazy. I was hoping you’d have ideas about a distraction, something she can do that will make her feel like she’s still got some control over this situation.”

“Like what?” Daisy asked, curious. “A hobby?”

“I think Mercy’s too intense for that right now. I was thinking more in line with something she can do to contribute to the search for Eden or to prepare for when the people there are finally rescued. Channeling her energy into a positive endeavor might help her right now.”

Daisy hummed thoughtfully. “Like I’m doing with the escapees.”

Liza’s brows shot up in surprise. “What escapees?”

“Well, you know about the Eden tattoos, right?”

“Yes. Boys get them on their thirteenth birthdays. They’re the official Eden symbol, the children kneeling beneath an olive tree, all beneath the wings of an angel with a flaming sword.”

“Exactly. I started searching for other people with this tattoo on Instagram, looking for keywords like ‘olive tree,’ ‘children praying,’ and ‘angel with flaming sword.’ ”

Liza was intrigued. “Oh, wow. Did you find anything?”

“I did. Initially I found two. One was a close replica. A college kid had copied it from his lover—an escapee who’d taken his own life. That shook Mercy up. The second was exact—and belonged to an escapee both Mercy and Gideon had known. His Eden tattoo had been done in Eden on his thirteenth birthday, but he’d added a tat of a dragon breathing fire, like it was going to destroy it. His name was Judah.”

Liza winced. “Was?”

Daisy sighed. “He was killed in a car accident last year. I haven’t told Mercy yet. She’s been so sad, I didn’t want to add to it. Gideon took it hard enough.”

Liza understood that. “You said you ‘initially’ found two tattoos. Did you find more?”

“One more, another exact copy, but this one was done by the artist who posted it. The client who got the tattoo isn’t from Eden, as he’d have gotten it there, but he’s got to know someone who escaped. I found the tattoo artist on Instagram and we exchanged a few e-mails, but then he ghosted me after the Feds visited him at the studio where he worked. He’s taken down his Instagram page, so whatever happened, it rattled him. Artists use Instagram to advertise.”

“Do you know where this guy is located? What’s his name?”

“He was in San Jose. His name is Sergio Iglesias. He might have just changed studios.”