We pulled into the dark parking lot, and I lifted Grace’s car seat out, leaving my phone and purse on the back seat. We were still really near the interstate. Maybe I could get away with this detour.

The limestone building seemed to glow in the dark like a fortress of safety. My parents waited for me, and I sped up. Dad held the door and we entered a lobby, older than the one in Sugar Land but with the same elements: locks on the doors to prevent entry farther into the building, a display case with medals and awards, and the officer seated behind a protective barrier.

I set Grace’s seat on the floor, her eyes wide as she took in the bright lights of the police station. I had to be the kind of person she’d look up to, the kind of person who was brave, who rescued others, who took action. But I didn’t want to leave.

You were more fun before you became a mom.

My heart beat a staccato rhythm in my chest. Grace. I’d do whatever Lena wanted, sacrifice myself, as long as Grace was safe.

The car keys were still in my father’s hand, and quickly I took them. “Left my phone in the car.” Before he could insist on going with me, I darted out of the building, hurled myself into the driver’s seat, and started the engine.

I didn’t look in the rearview mirror as I pulled out of the parking lot.

CHAPTER

26

THE MUSEUM WAS strung with fairy lights in the trees and around the entrance, reflected in delicate patterns through all the windows, making it impossible to see through them.

In my slouchy athletic pants, T-shirt, and cheap cardigan, I wasn’t dressed for a gala, or even dressed to cater a gala. These events were highly orchestrated down to the last detail. If this were a movie, I’d sneak into the kitchen, pick up a platter of canapés, and waltz into the crowd, perfectly in disguise. But I knew that everyone on the floor would be wearing a uniform, that in the kitchen each team would be so well organized that they wouldn’t hand a platter to some random person, and in the sea of hot boxes and prep tables I’d stick out just as much as I would in the midst of the glitterati.

And if I stuck out, Lena would see me before I saw her.