Once they got wherever they were going, he would find a way to get her alone. She had to explain what she meant by those words. Why she had made the national parks investigator bring her to Little Rock. How she had tracked him from the motel to the federal building.

And, more important than anything else: How she wielded the power to kill.

“We’re here,” Rudd said.

The expansive oaks claustrophobically close to the windows were another reminder that their final destination was Florida. If the windows hadn’t been locked, he could have reached out to touch the Spanish moss hanging in the branches.

The narrow road opened out to a vast clearing, still surrounded by the same sprawling trees. If it weren’t for their massive trunks, it would be difficult to see where one ended and the other began.

In the midst of the yard was a house; a mansion, to be more accurate. Antebellum in design, sweeping white pillars with upper and lower porches. Bright pink azalea bushes spread across the front.

“Where are we?” William asked.

“Right now,” Rudd said, taking out his pistol and engaging the safety button, “the only safe place in the world.”

They pulled up to the front, keeping the engine running.

“Last stop,” the driver said.

Rudd reached over and gave him a hearty handshake. “Thank you, my friend. I know this wasn’t what you expected when we needed a ride out of Memphis.”

“Just doing my part for the cause. Give Miss Blue my best.”

As Rudd slid out and opened the back seat passenger door, motioning for William, Lily, and Quincy to exit, the driver turned around.

“You keep little miss safe, you hear?”

William nodded. As soon as they stepped out and the door was closed, the SUV pulled away. They watched it leave the clearing and disappear on the shadowy road.

“If I took off running, how long would it be until an alligator ate me?” Quincy asked.

“Feel free to try and find out.” Rudd began to climb the stairs to the house.

“What are we doing here,” William asked. “Where are we?”

“Where she told us to bring you.”

“She? Who is she?” Quincy asked.

Nanna? She couldn’t be here. Could she?

“My grandmother? Is she here?” William asked.

“Your grandmother?” Quincy whispered, keeping pace with Lily. “Really? Here?”

When Rudd didn’t respond, William shook his head in frustration. “I don’t know.”

They entered the front doors into a hallway with a stairwell surrounded on both sides by murals depicting peacocks and other birds nestled in billowing bushes and trees. A tall, stately grandfather clock stood guard next to a writing desk.

Rudd marched past it all to approach the two men standing by another set of double doors. Both wore pistols in holsters at their waists.

“She’s on the porch,” one of them said.