I hesitated, then answered it. “Tessa Vale.”

“Tessa,” a voice said.

It was a voice I recognized immediately, and it made my skin crawl.

Gideon Voss.

“Gideon,” I said, my voice cold. “It’s late for a phone call.”

“I wanted to offer you a professional courtesy,” Gideon said, his tone smooth, like expensive oil. “Before things get out of hand.”

“They are already out of hand,” I said. “You sent armed men to a safehouse. That is federal kidnapping and attempted murder, Gideon.”

He chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. “I have no idea what you are talking about. I am merely representing my client, Celeste Reed. She is frantic, Tessa. Her children have been taken.”

“They are not her children,” I spat. “They are Mara’s. And Ryker is their biological uncle.”

“A DNA test is a piece of paper,” Gideon said. “And papers can be misplaced. Or ruled inadmissible. Right now, Celeste is the only legal guardian. Your client is committing a felony.”

“We will be in front of a judge at nine in the morning,” I said.

“I doubt that,” Gideon said.