Page 72 of Broken Princess

I wrote down a list of lower-level Order members who were known associates of Jamie Torrance, and then I handed it to him. “I really hope this works,” I said.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Dad muttered. “If he’s managed to hide the fact that he’s on the shadow council from everyone he knows, then he’s probably managed to hide a lot of other things too.”

“We’ll see.”

He rose to his feet. “I’ll go outside to make the calls. You stay here and wait for news from your friend. He might find Willow before we do.”

He left the room, and I sat by his desk for what felt like an eternity with a sinking sensation in my stomach. I could feel my pulse, quick and shallow, at the base of my throat. What if I made the wrong choice in trusting my father? What if he was outside right now, telling my mother everything?

Fuck.

He finally returned at half past two. The air seemed to hum with electricity as I waited for the hammer to drop, and I set my teeth on edge. “Any luck?” I asked, half-expecting my mother to step inside at any second.

Dad gave me a thin smile. “I think so. You said something about an island, right?”

My heart leapt as I nodded. He was actually helping me, and Mom wasn’t coming.

I made the right choice after all.

“I found out from one of his friends that the Torrance family used to own almost every single island off the coast of New Hampshire,” Dad went on. “They sold the biggest one to the Order many years ago. That’s Fire Island. When he told me that, I had to pretend as if I already knew about it, seeing as I’m supposedly Q.”

I nodded. “Of course.”

“It was sold over a hundred years ago, so I’m guessing it means the Torrances have been linked with the Order for a long time, although I would’ve never guessed that.”

“Right. How does this help us, though? If they own almost all of the islands up there, that doesn’t really narrow it down, does it?”

“I said they used to own all of them, including Fire Island,” he said. “Nearly all of them have been sold off to other people now. All except one, in fact.”

My pulse picked up again. “Which one?”

He moved closer to me and brought up a map on his phone. “I was told it was a small boot-shaped one about thirty miles east of Fire Island,” he said, handing the phone to me. “So I’m guessing it’s this one.”

He tapped the screen to zoom in, and I squinted at the spot. “That’s it? You’re sure?”

“As sure as I can be.” He switched the map to the satellite display option. “There’s a building on it.”

“Looks like a house,” I said with a slow nod. “A pretty big one, too.”

“Are you going to go?”

“Of course I am.”

“Good.” Dad smiled faintly. “Be careful, and bring Willow home safe. Then we’ll deal with your mother.”

I returned his smile and nodded, though my mind was already miles away. Adrenaline had burned off all of the fear and fatigue, and all I could think about was finally seeing Willow’s face again, bright and beautiful.

My Willow.

My princess.

The one bright light on a horizon that had never looked darker.