“This place stinks, like cigarettes and coffee,” he remarks as he walks up to the foot of the bed. Bags permanently reside under his eyes, his clothes are wrinkled, and he reeks of coffee. “I told you that you couldn’t leave until I figure out what we’re going to do with you.” He pulls out a chair at the table, sits down, and lowers his head into his hands. “You do realize how bad you’ve screwed up, right? That this could have gone a lot worse. Doc could have gotten to you first and you wouldn’t be sitting here.”

I point the remote at the television, click it off, and then sit up on the bed, stretching my arms. “I already told you I don’t care,” I sign when he raises his head again. “Emery didn’t deserve what was happening to her, and I was sick of sitting by and watching them torture her.”

He shakes his head. “What I don’t get is why you think you needed to run with her? We could have gotten you out of there and then followed Doc when he took Emery home.”

I lower my feet onto the floor. “Because more than likely Doc would have hurt her before he got her home.”

“You don’t know that for sure.” His voice is harsh, but he looks worn out. “Do you have any idea what you did? You crumbled year’s worth of work all so you could try and save some girl, just like you did with Aura.”

“Don’t bring her into this,” I warn. “Emery’s not Aura. She wouldn’t have told her father who I am.”

He heaves an exhausted breath and stares out the window. “I can’t believe you blew your cover and gave up your chance at a new start in life.” He looks at me and shakes his head in disappointment.

I shrug, unsure what he wants me to say. I already knew the new start I was promised is gone. I don’t regret my choice, though, not after seeing Evan and Doc go after Emery like that. I wasn’t about to stand by anymore and watch them slowly kill her anymore.

“I wish you’d tell me where Emery is,” I sign. “It’s been three days and all anyone will ever say is that she’s okay, but she’s been in and out of consciousness.”

“She’s okay.” He twists in his seat and stretches out his legs across the floor. “More than okay, actually, which is part of the reason I came to see you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, she finally woke up and is coherent.”

I get to my feet and rub my dreary eyes, suddenly feeling very awake. “Can I see her?”

He thrums his fingers on the table, contemplating, then retrieves his phone from his pocket and checks his messages. When he puts his phone away, he reclines back in the chair. “She told us where it is.”

I gape at him. “She told you where the warehouse is? Just like that?”

“You seem shocked,” Stale remarks, pushing to his feet, “yet you’ve been assuring me that she’d cooperate.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think she’d do it that easy. Not when she’s terrified of her father.”

“Well, she didn’t do it without some stipulations, one being protection.”

So, just like that, Emery gave up the location. She’s braver than I thought. I should have given her more credit. All that time we spent together, she seemed timid and sweet, unlike her father who is more terrifying than the devil himself. But she’s had bravery hidden beneath the fear he worked to instill in her.

“There were more requests than just being protected,” Stale adds. “One is she wants to see you before she goes.”

“Goes?” I ask with my brow cocked. “Where?”

“That information is confidential.”

“And what about me?” I sign. “Where am I going?”

“That’s really up to you.” He rubs his hand over the top of his head, staring out the window again. “We can offer you witness protection, which I think would be wise considering, but I can’t make you do it.”

“Just like Brooks?” I question with speculation, still not convinced Brooks was ever safe.

He scowls at me. “I’ve told you time and time again that Brooks is safe, Ryler. Just like you and I are standing here. I told you I’d protect you just like I told him the same. We pulled him out before Donny got to him, so stop speculating otherwise.”

“Why would you give me the offer for witness protection?” I wonder. “I fucked up, which means I lose my chance at starting over.”

His mouth curves to a frown. “We’re not that cruel. We’re not going to just let you out there to fend for yourself after you’ve given us eight months of your life. Besides, you didn’t fuck up completely. You brought us Emery who told us the location of Ralingford.”

“That’s the town where the warehouse is?”

“It is. Emery even gave up the latitude and longitude so we could track it by satellite, otherwise, we’d be going into the search blind.”

Emery, you’re more amazing than you’ll ever realize.

Completely and utterly brave.

I want to see you again.

Hold you in my arms.

But how long will it last before you slip from my fingers

and blow into the wind like dust?

“And if I choose witness protection, then I’d never see anyone I know again, right?” I ask. “That would be the deal.”

“That’s how these things have to work; otherwise, there would be no point.” When I don’t respond right away, he adds, “Ryler, I’m not going to tell you what to do, but with you and Emery being gone for over four days now, my bet is Doc already has men looking for you. You know as well as I do that if they start looking into you, they’re going to eventually find stuff. Just like you know that even if we arrest them there’s always a chance someone will still come looking for you.”