Drugged now, twice. Not just him, but Lily too. Injected with God knows what. It can’t be good for a little girl.

William sat up again, slowly this time. There were no windows, so the only light came from fluorescents above. The queen-sized bed took up much of the space, as if it were hastily crammed in. Books were stacked in columns, even on the floor. A Sports Illustrated issue covered a nightstand. A small TV was placed in the corner, with a connected Xbox.

It took him a moment to realize everything was tailor-made for him.

He heard the beeping of a code and the loud release of bolts in the door. The door opened slightly.

“Will.”

He hadn’t imagined it, that last moment in Jane’s house. Even for a moment, it was a face he instantly recognized—his eighth birthday party, Sunday dinners around Nanna’s table—his aunt Kate was there for a while, often in a business suit, fresh off a plane. And when she wasn’t dressed for a meeting, she was in a Predators jersey, playing football with him and his brothers, a cautioning hand when they were in public, scanning for photographers in the crowd. The family’s pit bull, William’s dad had called her, ready to bite anyone who lunged at them and wired not to let go.

Until Grandpa Tom resigned from office, and the aunt he knew became someone else.

Very much looking like a US senator, in her dark blue suit and glasses, she walked over to him, her arms outstretched.

“Don’t,” he said, holding up his hand.

She paused as he groggily stood. “You’re with them, Kate. You let them do this.”

“Honey, I didn’t want to. It’s the last thing I ever wanted. And I’m not with them. I want to keep you safe. Keep everyone safe.”

“Safe? You call drugging and throwing me—wherever we are—safe?”

“This is the safest place right now, I promise you.”

“And you’ve locked up a little girl and a doctor too? And Steven, is he here too?”

“They’re two of the deadliest people on the planet, William. And you know it as well as I do. This had to happen. As for Dr. Richards, he’s being questioned right now.”

“Thinking about maybe pegging this one on him too? Since the murder charge didn’t stick last time?”

“William, please. I had nothing to do with that—”

“Why are you even here, Aunt Kate? How do you know about any of this? How did you know how to find me?”

“I’ve been trying to track you down for a year now, William. Obviously, since the disaster in Little Rock, I’ve moved heaven and earth to locate you. People have come to me with information that assisted in that effort.”