Gemma set a hand on his arm. “Please, be careful.”

Barnabus nodded. “We’ll be very careful.”

He caught Fletcher’s and Hollis’s eyes and motioned them over. Brogan slipped over to where Móirín was helping with the cleanup. He would most certainly whisper to his sister as much as he could without giving away DPS secrets. They would help Gemma stay safe while Barnabus attempted to help save Serena.

He and Ana moved to meet Fletcher and Hollis halfway.

“That’s Serena,” Ana said to her husband. “The woman we’ve been looking for.”

Fletcher leaned a bit closer to Barnabus and talked out the side of his mouth. “Shall we catch up with her and try again?”

“That’s the entirety of my plan at the moment.”

“Spontaneity.” Fletcher nodded. “I like this new version of you, Doc.”

“You can gab later, boys,” Hollis said. “Serena’s walking away.”

They moved toward her, but she spotted them and moved quicker.

“We need to work on our stealth, mates,” Fletcher said. “She was flash to us in an instant.”

They picked up their pace, following Serena down a narrower side street.

“Seems we’ve done this before.” Fletcher motioned Hollis around the corner, likely hoping he’d catch up with Serena at the other end of the street.

But the street split into a T, and Serena went the opposite direction Hollis had. She looked back at them a few times, the briefest of glances. The winding streets often turned into labyrinths the farther one followed them. This path would likely prove no different.

Ana dropped from behind a wall directly in front of Serena. Barnabus hadn’t even realized Ana had slipped away from the group. Having a sneak thief in their midst was a helpful thing indeed.

“Please, listen to us,” Ana said. “We can get you out now. We can get you somewhere safe.”

Serena shook her head over and over again. “He will find me.”

“There are safe places we can take you,” Barnabus said. “We can get you as far away from him as you need to be.”

“I’ll not abandon my children. He’d kill ’em in a rage.”

Barnabus hadn’t forgotten she had children tied up in this as well. “We’ve saved children too.”

Still the terror in her eyes. Still the frantic shaking of her head. “Not from him.”

“Yes, from him,” Fletcher said. “We know who he is. He knows who we are, too, because we thwart him every chance we get.”

She blinked a few times. The tiniest flicker of hope crossed her face, but she snuffed it out quickly. “If I went bridges with you, he’d nab my little ones before any of us could say Bob.”

“Where are they?” Fletcher asked gently and with clear concern.

“They’re at Trafalgar Square, earning their keep for the day. They’re made to be bungnippers.”