Page 41 of Darkest Before Dawn (His Perfect Darkness #2)

H e’s got my family. Ted’s panic reverberates through me, turning my stomach. My mouth fills with saliva, the burger threatening to come back up, but I can’t vomit now. This isn’t the worst moment of my life, but it’s up there. Top ten, maybe top three.

Think, Inara. I need to remain calm and clear-headed. Imagining the worst won’t help. “Where are they?”

“He gave me an address. You’re supposed to meet me there, and then he’ll tell you where my family is.

But he said you have to come alone.” Ted’s voice wavers, then rises as he starts to lose it.

“He’s watching to make sure it’s just you and me and no one else.

That’s what he said. No cops or he’ll kill them, even the kids?—”

“Okay. Okay.” This is it. The moment I’ve been waiting for.

The Bondage Killer must have seen me and Rex leaving the warehouse or guessed that I was still alive.

And now he’s going to lure me in, using this innocent family.

“I’m coming.” I’m already in the bedroom closet, reaching for my leather jacket.

I leave it and take a hoodie instead. “Tell me where to meet you.”

“No one can know,” Ted’s voice thickens as he responds, and he chokes. He sounds like he’s crying. “Or I’ll never see them again. Oh, gods.”

“Ted? Deep breaths. Focus on my voice. He doesn’t want your family; he wants me. And I’m coming.” I will save this family if it’s the last thing I do.

And it might be.

“He took them,” Ted is mumbling, crying. He sniffles. “You’re coming?”

“I’m on my way.” I head out of my room toward the private elevator.

I need to slip out of the hotel. Rex’s wardrobe for me didn’t include any baseball caps, so I flip up the hood.

I need to look as anonymous as possible so the press won’t clock me.

Or my bodyguards, who I’m more concerned with avoiding.

“Give me the address so I can take a taxi.”

“Okay.” Ted sounds calmer. ”Okay.”

I feel a pang of regret. All the beautiful things Rex and I spoke to each other last night, all the love we have for each other, and I’m abandoning it. Abandoning him. But if there’s a chance I can save this family, I have to try. He’ll understand that, right?

It won’t be easy staying under Rex’s radar. But that’s what I’m counting on. I need him to spot me and bring the cavalry.

The address Ted gives me is a deserted corner at the opposite end of the city from the warehouse BK blew up. But it’s still another commercial district, this one even more derelict than the last.

The sun set hours ago and the night is dark and cold. A feeling of hopelessness rises in me.

I hope I can get to the family before it’s too late.

The taxi leaves, and I step into the street, searching for Ted. “Hello?”

“I’m here.” A lanky figure in jeans and a stained khaki-colored jacket steps out of the shadows. I startle and force myself not to run, even though I was expecting him.

Ted looks a million times worse than he did at the ball, like he hasn’t slept a wink for a week. Exhaustion has carved chasms into his gaunt face.

“I came alone,” I tell him.

“Thank you.” He steps closer, and I balk at his sour smell. His sallow skin is streaked with tears. “It’s this way.” He hunches and starts walking without watching to see if I follow. “He just gave me the exact address.”

“I need you to tell me what happened.

“There’s no time.”

“Please, Ted, I need to know what I’m walking into. For your family.”

“I fucked up. I told him I didn’t want to do his work anymore. And then I went to my brother’s house for dinner and found that he’d taken them. This phone was on the table and started ringing.”

Tingles spread over my body. I’m closing in on BK; I know it. “Did you speak to him?”

“He told me to follow his instructions or else. No police.” His brow furrows as if he’s concentrating on repeating everything verbatim.

“Call Inara Ramos. Tell her to meet you at the corner of 29th and Williamson. I’ll give you further instructions from there.

Do it, or your family dies. And then he texted me that he’s watching. ”

I hold out my hand. “Can I see it?”

His hand shakes as he holds up the phone in front of me. There’s an unknown contact texting in all caps.

I’M WATCHING.

The last text came through minutes ago.

13056 WILLIAMSON

SEND IN MY SPARROW

ALONE

I bite down, tasting metal. That’s BK, all right.

“He means you, right?”

“Yes. What’s that address?”

“Here. . .” Ted fumbles with the phone. “I put it into Maps.” He peers at his screen, then looks around and points down the block. “I think it’s that building.” He’s pointing to a square brick building that takes up the rest of the block.

We walk toward it slowly, but after a few feet, Ted halts. “Do you think they’re inside?” He nods to the warehouse door. It’s so much like the warehouse where Burgess tried to trap me that my gut twists. But I won’t chicken out now.

“We’ll see.”

“I’m not supposed to go in.” He wavers as if he wants to. If it were my family, I’d be charging in, instructions be damned.

The phone in his hand buzzes, and he jolts like he’s been electrocuted.

“Is that him?” I can guess who’s texting.

“Yeah. I’m supposed to take your phone,” Ted mumbles but keeps his hands at his sides. His head hangs, and I feel a stab of pity. He’s trapped in a nightmare I understand all too well.

“Take it.” I offer it to him. Rex will be tracking it. I turn to face Ted fully. Even if BK is watching, he won’t be able to see or hear me murmur. “As soon as I’m in, call for help.”

He looks up, a dash of hope breaking his fearful expression. “But—he said?—”

“If he’s watching, he’ll know you followed instructions. I’ll get him to let your family go. He wants me.” I press my phone into his unwilling hand. He almost drops it. “But I’ll need help getting them out safely. So call for help.”

“All right.”

I don’t know if Ted can pull himself together long enough to be useful, but it’s worth a shot.

I turn from him and square my shoulders. The real challenge will be getting BK to give me a chance to talk to him before he does what he did at the last warehouse and detonates a bomb to send us to our deaths.

This is the end game. Chances are, my vision is real, and I’m going to die.

But if I can save this family before I go, it will be worth it.

The steps I take toward the warehouse are the longest of my life. I get deja vu from the last time I entered a warehouse, but this time is worse because what Rex told me last night is playing on repeat in my head.

I’ve been waiting for you all my life. You are everything to me.

I’m sorry, Rex. I draw my gun and push the door open, and it swings out of my way with a creaking whine.

I step in to face my fate.