“It’s her,” I said, and I launched into everything that had happened since she’d taken Greyson. She demanded details, especially about where Lila had been hiding. I made a point not to mention Knox’s role.

“Christ.” She turned the wheel sharply again, and the car emerged from the trees onto an open road. Celia sped up, and the forest became a blur. “None of them told me. She was with them the whole time, and not a single one of them said a word.”

“They love her. You said so yourself.”

“I can’t believe she let me think she was dead.” Celia shook her head in disbelief. “Where did I go wrong?”

It wasn’t my place to tell her, so I didn’t answer. Instead I stared out the window and kept my eyes peeled for any signs of a helicopter in the morning sky.

Suddenly a great boom rattled the car, and I twisted around to look out the back window. Several miles away, a cloud of black smoke rose into the clouds, and orange flames flickered up from the trees.

“What was that?” I said, panicked, but Celia was silent. Her grip on the wheel tightened, and when it became obvious she wasn’t going to answer me, I added, “Where are we going?”

“To the city,” she said. “I’m getting my daughter back.”

By the time we passed through the outskirts of D.C., it was nearly noon. I tried to nap, but I couldn’t find a comfortable position, and I was too worried about Benjy to fall asleep anyway. I’d fulfilled my side of the bargain, but I knew better than to think Augusta would do the same.

We ditched the car a few miles from Somerset and started out on foot. Avoiding the crowded main roads, we took back streets and alleyways, which muted the buzz of the city. The sky rumbled above us, threatening a storm, and on the side of a building I noticed a screen with a picture of Celia’s face on it. Words scrolled underneath it, but I had no idea what they said.

“Celia,” I said, pointing to the picture. The blood drained from her face. “What is it?”

She stared wordlessly at the screen for a good half a minute. When she spoke, her voice was rough. “They’re saying—they’re saying I’m dead. And that Lila and Greyson are safe, but in the middle of the rescue attempt, you—Lila’s double—valiantly gave your life to protect her.” Celia swore. “I can’t believe she’d do this to me.”

I could. It was exactly like I’d predicted, except the part where Celia had died, too. “It’s not a bad thing.” Before she could snap at me, I added, “If everyone thinks you’re dead, you’ll have an easier time of disappearing.”

“I’ve never had a problem before,” she muttered, and we continued forward in silence.

I didn’t recognize where we were until we reached the metal door. Now that I knew it was the Blackcoats’ bunker, a shiver ran down my spine as we stepped into the dark hallway.

“Why are we here?” I said.

“Because we need weapons,” said Celia. “Now stop asking questions.”

Before we could take another step, however, light flooded the corridor, and I could clearly see dozens of guards pointing their rifles directly at us. My heart pounded. Celia froze, her hand flying to her holstered gun, but even I knew it was suicide to pull it out.

“What’s going on?” said Celia in a loud and authoritative voice. “I know the media’s reporting I’m dead, but surely you all know better than to believe what they tell you by now.”

No one spoke. Seconds ticked by, and I shook as badly as I had on the side of the mountain. None of the guards lowered their weapons. One step and I would be dead. We both would be.

“Stay calm,” said Celia softly. “They won’t shoot us unless we make the first move.”

“How do you know?” I whispered, struggling to keep the rising hysteria from my voice.

“Because I trained them.”

At last, when I was so dizzy with fear that I thought I’d pass out, the door on the far side of the corridor opened. “Let them through.”

The guards relaxed, and my knees buckled with relief. I stumbled down the rest of the hallway, so dazed that I didn’t see Knox standing in the doorway until I was nearly on top of him.

“Steady,” he said, taking my arm. While his tone was friendly enough, when he looked at Celia, his expression was anything but. “It’s about time you showed up. What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know,” she snapped. “Exactly how long have you known my daughter was still alive?”

Knox scowled, and instead of answering, he led us through the maze of hallways, his arm wrapped around my shoulders. When we reached the common area, he jerked his head, and everyone cleared out. He led me to the nearest chair, and at last I shook myself from his grip.

“I can seat myself,” I said. Now that I’d calmed down, I could feel pain in the side of my cheek from where I must have bit it. When I probed the ragged flesh with my tongue, I tasted blood.

Knox backed away, and behind him, Celia paced, her hand still on her holster.

“I’m sorry for not telling you about Lila,” he said. “We tried to include you when I heard about the threats, and when you dismissed them, Lila got scared. I tried to get her to tell you after she was safe, but she was afraid you would make her come back.”

Celia looked away, but not before I noticed a shadow of guilt cast across her face. Knox must have seen it, too, because when he spoke again, his voice was gentler. “Tell me what happened.”

“I didn’t take Greyson to hurt him,” said Celia tightly. “You know that. I love him, but I knew it would scare the hell out of Augusta, and—”

“And what?” he said. “You really thought she would hand the country over to you?”

Celia was silent for a long moment, and when she spoke, her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Dammit, Knox, I thought they’d killed my daughter. I wanted them to hurt, but that didn’t mean I was going to hurt Greyson. All I did was drive him out to the cabin. He agreed to come with me, and he was never in any danger.”

He’d gone with her willingly? I looked at Knox for any sign he’d suspected Greyson might’ve done that, but all he did was grimace.

“We had no way of knowing that,” he said. “And with the way you’ve been acting lately—”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I was acting that way because I thought Lila was gone, but she’s not. Is she?” She glanced at me. “They shot her, but Kitty said it was a tranquilizer—”

“Kitty was right.” Knox looked at me, and for a split second I saw the ghost of a smile. “Augusta has her locked in her suite now, and she’s fine. She and Greyson both are. He’s seen the reports that you and Kitty are dead, and he’s so angry that if I didn’t know him any better, I would guess he’d take care of Augusta himself.”

The thought of Greyson killing his own grandmother made my stomach roll. “What about Benjy? Did Augusta let him go?”

Knox shook his head. “He’s locked in the safe room. I tried to get her to release him, but she refuses until your body shows up.”

I bit my lip. Of course she hadn’t kept her word. I’d been stupid to hope she would.

“Does she really think we’re dead?” said Celia. “The spray of bullets—”

“They blew up the cabin,” said Knox. “She was sure you were in it.”

Celia let out a string of curses that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “So now what? I have no way of getting back into Somerset, and the best we can do with Kitty is hope the guards think she’s Lila—”

“Actually, there is a way,” said Knox. “Kitty, you’re staying here.”

I snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“It’s too dangerous, and you have no idea how to handle a weapon.”

“Then teach me. You said you would anyway.”

He scowled. “If you get yourself killed—”

“Then I promise not to blame you.” I stood. “Let’s go.”

I’d never held a gun before, and the cold metal felt foreign in my hand. Knox ran through the basics, and my quick lesson boiled down to the number of bullets I had, the safety, and the trigger.