My throat was suddenly too small—the breaths moving through it were thin and shallow, not enough. I felt dizzy.

No. Not now. Please.

What is her problem? Mel snarled in my head. Why can’t she leave us alone?

We can’t let her hurt them!

But how do we stop her?

I don’t know. This is all my fault!

Mine, too, Wanda. Ours.

“Are you sure?” Doc asked.

“Kyle got a clear view through the binoculars while it was hovering. Same one he saw before.”

“Is it looking here?” Doc’s voice was suddenly horrified. He half spun, eyes flashing toward the exit. “Where’s Sharon?”

Brandt shook his head. “It’s just running sweeps. Starts at Picacho, then fans out in spokes. Doesn’t look like it’s focusing on anything close. Circled around a few times where we dumped the car.”

“Sharon?” Doc asked again.

“She’s with the kids and Lucina. They’re fine. The boys are getting things packed in case we have to roll tonight, but Jeb says it’s not likely.”

Doc exhaled, then paced over to his desk. He slouched against it, looking as if he’d just run a long race. “So it’s nothing new, really,” he murmured.

“Naw. Just have to lay low for a few days,” Brandt reassured him. His eyes were flickering around the room again, settling on me every other second. “Do you have any rope handy?” he asked. He pulled up the edge of the sheet on an empty cot, examining it.

“Rope?” Doc echoed blankly.

“For the parasite. Kyle sent me out here to secure it.”

My muscles contracted involuntarily; my hand gripped Walter’s fingers too tightly, and he whimpered. I tried to force it to relax while I kept my eyes on Brandt’s hard face. He was waiting for Doc, expectant.

“You’re here to secure Wanda?” Doc said, his voice hard again. “And what makes you think that’s necessary?”

“Come on, Doc. Don’t be stupid. You’ve got some big vents in here, and a lot of reflective metal.” Brandt gestured to a file cabinet against the far wall. “You let your attention wander for half a minute, and it’ll be flashing signals to that Seeker.”

I sucked in a shocked breath; it was loud in the still room.

“See?” Brandt said. “Guessed its plan in one.”

I wanted to bury myself under a boulder to hide from the bulging, relentless eyes of my Seeker, yet he imagined I wanted to guide her in. Bring her here to kill Jamie, Jared, Jeb, Ian… I felt like gagging.

“You can go, Brandt,” Doc said in an icy tone. “I will keep an eye on Wanda.”

Brandt raised one eyebrow. “What happened to you guys? To you and Ian and Trudy and the rest? It’s like you’re all hypnotized. If your eyes weren’t right, I’d have to wonder…”