Chapter 10 · The Warehouse Trap

I don't even remember getting in the car.

One second I'm standing in Darius's apartment with my phone in my hand and my mom's voice still ringing in my ears. The next I'm in the backseat of Kyle's SUV and Darius is up front, jaw locked, hands gripping the wheel so hard I can hear the leather creak.

"She said Pier 14," I say again. My voice sounds flat. Wrong. "The old fish processing plant. She said to come alone."

"You're not going alone." Darius doesn't look back. His eyes are on the road but I can see the gold bleeding through in the rearview mirror. "This is Vivienne. She wants you walking into her territory with no backup so she can do whatever the hell she's been planning since she found out what you are."

"My mom—"

"Is bait." Kyle twists around from the passenger seat. His face is hard. "Isla, I'm sorry, but you need to hear this. If your mom's been alive for sixteen years and never contacted you, Vivienne's the reason. She's been holding her. Using her. And now she's dangling her in front of you because she knows you'll do anything to get her back."