I felt her stiffen. “And you told him you would,” she said tonelessly. “In spite of Daddy.”

I nodded. “That’s why you’ve got to leave.”

“But if we’ve gone to the police—”

“It’s not that simple. I’m caught in a vise. I know things that might make Henry look different than he is. Rayfield’s going to sense that. Protecting my wife won’t be his first priority. You’ll be safer out of state.”

She leaned back from me, searching my face. Then she shook her head in a long, slow arc. “I’m staying, Adam.”

I grasped her shoulders. “Please, listen. This won’t end well, not with you here. Even without this threat you’ll be trapped between Roland and me in a case where Henry’s overridden him. Those cards are going to be played out this time. You don’t want to be a part of that.”

Her stare was long and probing. “But I am now,” she said quietly. “Aren’t I?”

My palms were damp. “Think, Krissy. Last night you were so afraid of Jason Cantwell I found you sleeping with a gun. This morning I’m at least that scared. It’s not just Henry now. This thing has become part of our lives. Don’t make it any worse than it is.”

“And running away would help? How do I know you won’t be killed?”

I tried smiling. “I’m too young.”

“You’re thirty-two,” she said levelly. “So was your father. Isn’t that beginning to bother you?”

“Why should it?”

“Because of the way you’re pushing—”

“Look, I need to find out who’s doing this. I don’t want you to be hurt before I do. It’s that simple.”

She shook her head with finality. “No, Adam. You’ve made your decision. Now I’m making mine.”

“But it’s senseless—”

“To you.” She stepped back, eyes burning with a low, angry, smoky intensity. “Look at me, dammit. I’m twenty-nine and it feels like I’ve spent my whole life waiting for you and Daddy to decide how I’ll spend the rest of it. I can’t stand by anymore. I can’t go cover my eyes while the two of you fight this out.”

Her face had set in a remote determination hauntingly like Cade’s. The attic seemed filled with trapped heat and the smell of paint. We faced each other, waiting. “I’ll go see Rayfield,” I said in a low voice. “Call Rennie Kell. I’ll drop you there.”

She watched me another moment, then silently began cleaning up her paints. I went through the house checking doors and windows while she finished and called the Kells. When I dropped her there she turned, said slowly and seriously, “I don’t want you hurt, Adam,” and got out of the car without looking back. I watched until she was inside.