The red taillights flared once, then vanished into the swirling white snow.

“We need to go,” Miller said.

He stood up, tossing a twenty-dollar bill onto the table next to our half-empty coffee cups.

The heater in the ceiling groaned, blowing a thin stream of lukewarm air over us.

I stood up, my knees feeling weak under my coat.

Adrian reached out and took my elbow, steadying me.

His hand was warm, but his grip was firm.

“You go with Miller,” Adrian said to me. “You stay in the federal vehicle.”

“I’m not letting you go in there alone, Adrian,” I said.

“You don’t have a choice, Claire,” he said. “It’s the only way he buys it.”

We walked out the back exit of the diner, into the freezing alley.

The cold air hit my face like a physical blow, taking my breath away.

The snow was already an inch deep on the asphalt, muffling the sound of our boots.

Miller unlocked a dark, unassuming sedan parked behind a stack of wooden pallets.

“Get in the back,” Miller told me.