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“I baked those last night.”

“After I went to sleep?” I lower my voice. Even though Max doesn’t seem to be paying attention to us, kids have a way of listening to everything adults say around them. I don’t want him to overhear anything about what happened last night.

“I thought the insomnia would go away after menopause, but it’s here to stay. I get a lot done in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep. I actually enjoy the quiet time. Usually, days are reserved for taking care of the club. Nights are just for me.”

“How often do the guys come over?” I ask.

“At least one comes over every day. If they didn’t visit, I’d worry about them. They take good care of each other, but they still need me to talk some sense into them from time to time. You know how men are.” She flashes a grin, then casually leans toward me. “So, do you have anyone waiting for you at home?”

“No. The last guy I dated was a total control freak. He wanted to know where I was and who I was with at all times. If I ever deviated from my schedule, he’d demand to know why. It got to the point where I’d have to sit through an interrogation whenever I saw him. It was weird. He’d start showing up in the most unexpected places, especially when I was out with friends. Random shops, like the nail salon.” I cringe, remembering all the times he appeared out of nowhere.

“It sounds like he was stalking you.”

“I guess technically he was, but I never even considered that possibility until it was over. It just seemed like he was being caring. That he was interested in my life.”

“How did things end between you?”

“When he tried to tell me who I could or couldn’t spend time with, I knew it was over.”

“Smart girl.”

“I probably let it go on for longer than I should have, but he was so attentive in the beginning. He’d bring me all kinds of extravagant presents, and he told me he loved me on our second date. I guess that should have been a red flag. He hardly knew me, but he was professing his undying love.” I shake my head, wondering how I could ever have been that stupid.

“He was love bombing you.”

“Is that a real thing?” I ask, incredulous because I’ve never heard that term before.

“Absolutely. It’s something abusers do in the beginning. It makes leaving them so much harder because they were so sweet and good to you, at least at first. But as time goes on, they can’t hide who they really are. The sad thing is that sometimes women don’t realize what’s happening to them until it’s too late.”

The sadness in her tone makes me wonder if she went through something similar. I’m about to ask her about it when her phone alarm sounds. She grabs it from her pocket and taps the screen. Four images appear. It looks like surveillance images from cameras. I suspected there were more than just the cameras at the gate, and this confirms it.

“Shit. Cops.” Nina’s on her feet in an instant. “Max, would you like to see something really cool?”

“Why are there cops here?” he asks, missing nothing. He wraps his arms around his knees and begins to rock. “Are they looking for me? Is my dad out there?”

“I’m sure they just want to talk to me about donating to their police charity.” Nina slides me a glance, asking for backup. I give her a quick nod.

“I want to see something cool.” I grab Max’s hand to help him to his feet.

“Come with me,” Nina says.

She takes off down the hall. When she reaches the last door on the right, she opens it and walks into a strawberry-themed bedroom. It looks like a little girl’s room. However, it’s hiding a secret, which Nina reveals when she taps along the wall. A secret panel retracts, revealing a hidden steel door. She presses her finger against a pad next to a small keyboard. The door hisses open as if it’s been vacuum sealed.

“This is where I like to go when we play hide and seek,” Nina says to Max. “There are a bunch of video cameras around the house. You can see what’s going on, so if someone’s coming, you’ll know it.”

“Come inside,” I say, leading Max into the room.

Three walls are covered with flat screen monitors. Security feeds from all over the property appear on the screens. Sheriff’s department vehicles block the front gate, and a man at the call box glares into one camera. It’s Max’s father.

“Stay here while I find out what they want,” Nina says. “The room is soundproof. It can’t be opened without a designated fingerprint or password. You’ll be safe here.”

“Be careful,” I tell her as she leaves.

The door clicks closed behind her. The silence inside the vault is overwhelming.

“What does this button do?” Max asks as he presses one.

“Don’t touch—”