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I call Anton on speaker as I race around the corner.

“Is she safe?” I demand.

“She must’ve found a place,” Anton replies. “She’s moving her family into the car as we speak.”

“Impressive,” I mutter. “Follow her. Make sure she’s⁠—”

“She’s coming over,” he says.

“What?”

“She is walking toward me.”

I stop at a red light, drumming my fingers against the steering wheel.

“Have you just been made by a civilian?”

Not a civilian. Iris. Serena. My natural spy.

A moment later, Serena’s talking down the phone. “I’m going to pretend you asked me permission to put a bodyguard on me, and give myself a false memory that I said yes, because I just can’t right now… okay?”

I swallow, repressing the urge to laugh. I just love the way she phrases things and her general attitude. I love how tough she is, how much life she’s lived.

“Sure, Iris,” I say.

She laughs lightly. “You’re a jerk,” she says. “I don’t mean that. But I should.”

“Be safe,” I tell her. “And check your texts when you get a chance, beautiful.”

“I will. Bye. I… I’m grateful. In a way.”

That hits me hard.

“Shall I keep following?” Anton asks, so clearly she’s given the phone back. I crack up at the image of her striding across the street and snatching it from Anton’s hand.

“Boss?”

“Yeah,” I say. “You heard the lady. You’re her bodyguard now. I want them kept safe.”

“What about Owen?”

“I’ll handle him. I’m on my way there now.”

I hang up and keep driving. At the next red light, Serena texts me.

Serena: I’m sort of excited by this possessive side of you. But at the same time I don’t know how to feel about it all. Rosa’s friend has a rental so she’s letting us stay there on a short-term basis. I told Rosa and Zoe there was a problem with the gas. I said the company called me. I feel so bad.

Nikolai: You did the right thing. You don’t want to scare them.

Serena: I’m not used to dealing in lies.

Nikolai: You’re a spy now, remember… You’re doing what’s right for your family. That’s what makes you so special.

Serena: This night has got you all kinds of messed up, huh? But you’re special too.

A car honks its horn behind me. I grind my teeth and look in the rearview. But then they’re pulling up beside me. They roll down the window, three men, one drinking from a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag.

“Don’t you see the light, jerk off?”