“Now,” Brandon said. “We have a deal?”

“I don’t trust you, Brandon,” I said.

“You don’t have to,” he said. “But you need me. Without me, you don’t get out of this house tonight.”

“I can get out of this house,” I said. “With or without your permission.”

“Maybe,” he said. “But not with Emily.”

That stopped me.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“My mother had her moved,” he said.

“Where?” I demanded, my blood running cold.

“To the private clinic on the north side of the estate,” he said.

“She’s heavily sedated,” he added. “You try to carry her out of here, and my mother’s actual security guards will shoot you both.”

I stared at him, my mind racing through tactical options.

The clinic was a high-security facility.

I had seen the blueprints of the estate during my reconnaissance.

It was fortified like a bunker, with thick concrete walls and reinforced doors.

“If you give me the flash drive,” Brandon said, “I will personally disable the security grid on the west gate.”

“I will also ensure the clinic staff is dismissed for the night,” he said.