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Tonight is no different. Except this time, I choose the hand I place myself into.

I draw my knees closer to my chest and look towards the woods.

Edwin stands in the dark beyond the window, half-hidden among the trees, his face pale against the night. A few buttons are undone at the top of his striped shirt. Tiny crystals stitched into the lines on the fabric catch the faint light.

He remains motionless. I get the impression he’s been watching me for a while.

My heart trips over itself, excitement sparking under my ribs with a hint of fear.

He came to take me.

I cross to the window and slide up the screen. The scrape cuts through the quiet and I flinch, even though it doesn’t matter tonight.

He steps up to the sill.

“What are Frank and Evelyn doing?” he asks.

“Setting up for church. Calista went out with Wayne. No one’s here.”

He nods, all business, then holds out his hand. “Come with me.”

My stomach twists as my teeth catch my lower lip. I don’t know what awaits me. Only that it involves powerful men with dangerous secrets, and that alone is enough to make my skin crawl. But there is no version of this where I stay behind and survive what follows.

Edwin has what I need. Answers. A name.

If I run, I’ll spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, waiting for the man who killed Asher to finish what he started. If I refuse Edwin, I’ll go back into a house where punishment is synonymous with family loyalty. And now that I’ve signed the stupid contract, the Order would come after me too.

So I choose the fear standing directly in front of me.

I have to believe he’ll keep me safe through this. He wouldn’t make me do something I couldn’t handle.

I put my hand in his.

He helps me onto the windowsill, then catches me as I slip outside. His steady hands close around my waist to keep my apple-patterned sundress from riding up before he sets me gently on the grass.

A black car waits at the curb, engine idling.

Before opening the door, Edwin pulls a strip of black fabric from his pocket.

“I need your trust, Zaiya.”

My brows tighten, but I nod.

I close my eyes while he ties the blindfold securely into place. Darkness seals around me without a crack of light, keeping me disoriented.

His hand guides me into the backseat beside him. The door shuts and the car moves.

Someone else is driving. I try to count turns at first, attempting to track the route in my head, but I lose it almost immediately. In a matter of minutes, we slow to a stop.

When the door opens, I can hear the rush of water. Light waves lapping.

The river.

My chest tightens. Whatever waits for me here is dangerous enough that a wrong move could have me discarded in the Mississippi without a trace.

But I step towards it anyway.

I squeeze Edwin’s hand until my fingers ache, trying to keep my face calm while everything inside me rebels. The fishy smell of the water fills my nostrils. I need to see.