“You’re welcome, Lena,” he said.

He made two more crackers, handing them to Noah and Oliver.

He didn’t rush them, and he didn’t try to force them to hug him. He just sat there, being present.

“The signal stopped,” Isabella announced, her fingers finally resting on the keyboard.

I walked back to her table. “Does that mean they lost us?”

“No,” Isabella said, her face grim. “It means they know exactly where we are, but they are playing with us.”

She picked up her burner phone and dialed a number.

“Who are you calling?” Adrian asked, keeping his voice quiet so the kids wouldn’t hear.

“Vance,” Isabella said. “He’s the only contact I have left who hasn’t been bought by Salvatore or the Hart family.”

“Can we trust him?” I asked.

“He got us this warehouse,” Isabella said, waiting for the call to connect. “He managed the security codes for the shipping district. If anyone can get us a truck to reach the north harbor, it’s him.”

She held the phone to her ear, her eyes fixed on the dirty window that looked out onto the empty alley.