“Stalk much?”

She shrugs. “Just admiring.”

He crosses the room and she stands up straight, looking up at him as he brushes the hair out of her face. “This will all be over soon.”

She nods and wants to smile, kiss him, hug him, anything to allow herself a moment of happiness. But worry eats at her and the only words she can muster are, “I need you on my side.”

“I need you, too,” he says. “Plus, being on your side has its benefits.” There’s a teasing note to his voice and a quiet, breathy laugh leaves her throat. She turns her head to rest against his chest and wraps her arms around his middle. He reciprocates the hug and presses a kiss to the top of her head.

They pull apart when the front door opens and closes. Zach locks it behind himself and starts toward them, his face pale and mouth parted. His eyes are glassy and lost as he looks from Lynell to Daniel and then down at the burner phone in his hand.

Lynell steps forward. Icicles form around her heart and a deep, empty feeling of dread slices its way into her gut. “Zach,” she says. Her voice sounds foreign to her own ears. “What’s going on?”

Zach blinks. His mouth closes, opens, closes again.

“Answer her, Zach,” Daniel says.

“I called Jeremy to be sure he’ll be covering the exit at the house when we go and—” His voice falls off as his gaze moves from Daniel to Lynell. “Eric answered.”

Slices of dread make their way up to Lynell’s chest. “And?” she asks in a louder voice than she meant.

“He—” Zach clears his throat and swallows before he continues, “Josh is dead and he has Zoe and Anna.”

“What?” Daniel’s voice booms in the small apartment.

Lynell staggers back and her legs go weak. She’s about to fall when she finds a wall behind her to lean against. Zach’s looking at her, talking to her directly, but his edges blur, and his words sound muffled as if she’s hearing it all from inside a bubble.

“They went to Josh’s brother’s house apparently, but Dad had Regulators there already. Josh tried to fight, but they killed him and took Zoe and Anna to Dad’s house. He said if we don’t come, both of us, he’s going to kill them. Lynell, it’s a trap, we shouldn’t—”

“Shut up, Zach!” Daniel yells, cutting him off. Zach steps back in shock, and Lynell looks between the men, a deafening buzz filling her ears.

“We have to be careful and think logically,” Zach says.

“Haven’t we been through this? That’s our daughter!”

“I know! That’s why we have to plan this.”

“We can’t just let him kill Anna!” Splotches of red fill Daniel’s cheeks, and Lynell feels a distant desire to reach out and touch him, but she’s frozen against the wall.

“He won’t. She’s a bargaining chip for him. He will leave her unharmed as long as Lynell is out here. But if we run in there in a panic, he will kill her! He’ll kill us all.”