"Take it as you will." I arch an eyebrow at her. "But understand this. If you don't help me find my wife, I will make life miserable for all of you. I have been kind enough not to divulge your location even though I've been aware of it for quite some time. However, that grace is quickly dissolving in the face of your resistance. So it seems you have a choice. Help me find my wife and bring her back home to me safely, or let your entire family pay the consequences of your actions."

Tears cling to the edges of her eyelids, and she turns away to wipe them, stewing over her current predicament with a stubbornness that must certainly be a Moreno trait. I recognize it well enough from Ivy.

"Fine," she whispers reluctantly. "I will help you, but I need to know that Ivy won’t come to harm.”

"She is safer with me than anywhere else.”

"That must be why she ran from you in the first place," Hazel hisses.

"We’re running out of time." I nod to the staircase again. "And I'm running out of patience."

Her eyes dart to the keys she dropped on the floor, and she moves woodenly to pick them up. "One more thing." She tilts her chin up defiantly. "How can I trust that you won't give up our location or hand me over if I go with you?"

I consider my words carefully. I am accustomed to taking what I want without regard for the feelings of others. I am a De La Rosa, after all. But some sliver of humanity in me wants her to trust me because she’s my wife's sister, and I know Ivy loves her. It feels strange to acknowledge this truth, particularly because I still don't want to believe it myself, but the longer I am without my wife, the more obvious it becomes.

"You can trust that I won't betray you," I answer stiffly. "Because my wife would never forgive me if I did, and despite what you might think, I… I care about her. I want her home with me where she belongs. That's all I want. And I have no reason to turn you over unless you refuse to help me get her back."

Hazel's face softens just a fraction as she studies me, searching for lies. When she is satisfied I am telling the truth, she offers a small nod.

"Okay. Let me get my son. We'll need to drop him off at school first."

"What is this place?" I ask.

Hazel shifts the car into park and turns off the ignition, staring up at the yellow house that looks just like any other on the street.