“Okay.”Ted sounds calmer.”Okay.”
I feel a pang of regret.All the beautiful things Rex and I spoke to each other last night, all the love we have for each other, and I’m abandoning it.Abandoning him.But if there’s a chance I can save this family, I have to try.He’ll understand that, right?
It won’t be easy staying under Rex’s radar.But that’s what I’m counting on.I need him to spot me and bring the cavalry.
The address Tedgives me is a deserted corner at the opposite end of the city from the warehouse BK blew up.But it’s still another commercial district, this one even more derelict than the last.
The sun set hours ago and the night is dark and cold.A feeling of hopelessness rises in me.
I hope I can get to the family before it’s too late.
The taxi leaves, and I step into the street, searching for Ted.“Hello?”
“I’m here.”A lanky figure in jeans and a stained khaki-colored jacket steps out of the shadows.I startle and force myself not to run, even though I was expecting him.
Ted looks a million times worse than he did at the ball, like he hasn’t slept a wink for a week.Exhaustion has carved chasms into his gaunt face.
“I came alone,” I tell him.
“Thank you.”He steps closer, and I balk at his sour smell.His sallow skin is streaked with tears.“It’s this way.”He hunches and starts walking without watching to see if I follow.“He just gave me the exact address.”
“I need you to tell me what happened.
“There’s no time.”
“Please, Ted, I need to know what I’m walking into.For your family.”
“I fucked up.I told him I didn’t want to do his work anymore.And then I went to my brother’s house for dinner and found that he’d taken them.This phone was on the table and started ringing.”
Tingles spread over my body.I’m closing in on BK; I know it.“Did you speak to him?”
“He told me to follow his instructions or else.No police.”His brow furrows as if he’s concentrating on repeating everything verbatim.“Call Inara Ramos.Tell her to meet you at the corner of 29th and Williamson.I’ll give you further instructions from there.Do it, or your family dies.And then he texted me that he’s watching.”
I hold out my hand.“Can I see it?”
His hand shakes as he holds up the phone in front of me.There’s an unknown contact texting in all caps.
I’M WATCHING.
The last text came through minutes ago.
13056 WILLIAMSON
SEND IN MY SPARROW
ALONE
I bite down, tasting metal.That’s BK, all right.
“He means you, right?”
“Yes.What’s that address?”
“Here...”Ted fumbles with the phone.“I put it into Maps.”He peers at his screen, then looks around and points down the block.“I think it’s that building.”He’s pointing to a square brick building that takes up the rest of the block.
We walk toward it slowly, but after a few feet, Ted halts.“Do you think they’re inside?”He nods to the warehouse door.It’s so much like the warehouse where Burgess tried to trap me that my gut twists.But I won’t chicken out now.
“We’ll see.”
