“Otherwise, he will receive you back.”

“Piece by piece.”

I stared at him, my heart hammering against my ribs.

“He won’t give you anything,” I said.

“We will see,” Marcus said.

He released my jaw, pushing me backward slightly.

He stood up and wiped his hands with a handkerchief.

“Thomas, lock her in the guest room on the third floor,” Marcus ordered.

“Remove the zip-ties. She can’t escape from there anyway.”

“And search her.”

My chest tightened.

If they searched my coat, they would find the transmitter.

Thomas stepped forward, pulling me to my feet.

He led me out of the study and up another flight of stairs.

We entered a bedroom with a large window overlooking the dark woods.

Thomas pulled out a pocket knife and sliced the plastic zip-ties off my wrists.

My hands fell to my sides, tingling as the blood rushed back into them.

“Take off the coat,” Thomas said.

I hesitated, my heart stopping.

“Now,” he demanded, reaching for my shoulder.

I slowly slipped my arms out of the heavy coat, keeping my fingers pressed against the outside of the pocket where the transmitter lay.