Thirty minutes later, they were seated near the back of the jet, passengers still filing on and filling the rows in front of them. The engine humming below, the murmur of other passengers, and the slamming of overhead bins gave the scene a sense of normalcy.

As if anything was normal.

"Why Boston?" Marisa asked.

"I was surprised when you didn't ask me earlier."

"I thought about it, but..." She'd been too tired, too worried, to think about anything but what she was doing. She'd focused on getting her stuff, getting to the airport, and getting to Mexico City.

The truth was, she'd been relieved to turn over the decision-making to Nate. She'd had no idea what to do. She'd been muddling through life for eight years. And what a job she'd done, taking care of herself. Adopting a child who was now in harm's way because of her. If only she'd ignored her sister's email. If only she'd never looked at the computer that day. If only she'd stayed in her safe little village, none of this would have happened.

Her decisions had gotten her here. They'd gotten Ana and Leslie kidnapped. Marisa never wanted to make another decision as long as she lived.

But.

But she couldn't follow blindly. Ana was Marisa's responsibility, and all that had happened was her fault.

Now that they were about to take off, Marisa needed to know Nate's plan. "You said to do the next thing. So that's what I've been doing."

He shifted to face her. "There are still people looking for you, right?"

"Who do you think kidnapped them? The people who were looking for me obviously followed you guys. They must've found me."

"Maybe," he said. "Maybe not."

"Wait, what do you mean? Of course it was them."

"It could have been Charles and his people, but there were a lot of other people at G&K who might've had a bone to pick with you. It wasn't just his money that was stolen. The business account was emptied, too. Everybody lost their jobs. They couldn't even negotiate with the feds to keep their doors open. They were broke. They were in debt."

"That wasn't my fault."

"They think it was. Anyway, I'm not willing to take the chance that, while we're searching for Ana, somebody else doesn't try to hurt you."

"You think I care if something happens to me? As long as Ana's safe."

"And what happens to Ana if you're killed? Do you want her to grow up without a mother?"

"Leslie will take care of her."

"Assuming she survives."

"Don't say that."

"And you'd want that, to leave Ana in Leslie's hands? How would Ana feel to lose you? How did you feel when your mother died?"

"You don't..." She faltered. Her parents' deaths had been devastating, and she'd been an adult, theoretically.

So she knew what he was saying, but Marisa needed to be close to Ana. "Don't you think they're in New York?"