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“No,” Paige said sharply. “No, I want to know. I need to know. This job took my mother from me. I have to know more.”

“And you will, but I hadn’t planned on telling you about your mother just yet. It’s a lot to process.”

Paige swallowed hard, her fingers caressing the charms on the bracelet. “It is, but…” She raised her gaze to the portrait above, noting the resemblance between the woman and herself. “At least now I understand. Now I know. I know why she did it. I’ve spent years wondering why someone abandoned me. But now I know. I wasn’t unwanted. No…my mother made the ultimate sacrifice for me.

“And now I’m in the same position she was in. I have to learn more. I have to do the job you hired me for. The job my mother did.”

A smile formed on Ronnie’s lips, and she offered a chuckle. “You’re so much like her, Paige. You’re going to make an excellent librarian.”

“I’m not going to make an excellent librarian if I don’t get started!” Paige cut her gaze to Ronnie, a wide grin on her face. “Shall we continue?”

Ronnie squeezed her forearm and nodded. “As long as you’re sure. If you think finding out your mother was a librarian is the biggest secret we have, you’re in for a major shock.”

Ronnie motioned for them to continue down the hall toward the stairway leading to the level below.

“I’ll admit,” Paige said as they walked, “the information about my mother was a surprise, but a pleasant one. I’ve never had any knowledge about my family before. Knowing even a shred of information about my mom is… Well, let’s just say I’m thrilled.”

“That’s the first and last time I think I’ll tell someone their mother is missing and they’ll be thrilled with me.”

Paige pulled the corners of her mouth from a smile into a wince. “Yeah, the missing part wasn’t the highlight. Did you ever get any leads on her?”

Ronnie shook her head as they descended the stairs. “Not really, though Dewey may have more information on that. He’s good at tracking things.”

“Dewey?” Paige questioned.

“He’s your partner. You’ll be working with him to locate, retrieve, and archive items.”

“Oh!” Paige exclaimed. She wiggled her glasses up by scrunching her nose. “Did Dewey know my mom?”

“No, he started with us after your mom disappeared. He worked with the previous librarian.”

Paige smashed her lips together, giving a dejected nod as they reached the door leading to the archive.

“I’m sorry, Paige.”

“It’s okay. Like I said, this is more information than I’ve gotten in thirty-four years, so I can’t complain.”

Ronnie nodded as she waved her hand at the thick door in front of them. “The archives are behind this door. There are two levels of security here. First, the key itself. You have one of these on your keyring. And second–“

“The keycard.” Paige stopped her as she dug in her bag for her keys and keycard. “I know. I have a confession to make.”

Ronnie ground to a halt, her eyebrows flicking high.

“I stopped by last night and wandered around. I didn’t realize there was a security guard. Then again,” she said, still digging through her tote, “I didn’t realize we were protecting the world from… What did you say it was again?”

“Many things,” Ronnie admitted. “Some of which may be easier to explain once you’ve seen the archives.”

Paige flicked her gaze to the woman before offering a curt nod. “Right. Well, anyway, I tried to get in here and found out by trial and error that I needed the key and keycard.”

She pulled her hand triumphantly from inside the tote and waved each around. She shoved her key in the lock and turned before waving her keycard in front of the reader. The door released, and Ronnie tugged it open.

“Clever,” she said as she ushered Paige through the door and onto a large metal platform.

Paige’s heart thudded against her ribs, and her jaw dropped open as she stared out over the expansive storage area below her. Shelf upon shelf lined the space below them, overflowing with boxes, crates, and bulky items. It stretched farther than she could make out. Against the wall, massive bookcases stood from floor to ceiling, packed with thick volumes.

She swallowed hard and snapped her eyes to Ronnie. “How large is this?”

“As large as it needs to be.”