“Marissa has deep pockets, and she knows which hands to grease,” Marco said, his voice flat and hard.

Ryker walked over to the tall windows overlooking the driveway.

Outside, the snow was falling in thick, heavy flakes, blurring the yellow glow of the security lights.

“How long do we have?” I asked.

“Ten minutes, maybe fifteen if the snow slows them down,” Ryker said.

Owen looked up, his thumb sliding into his mouth as he squeezed his teddy bear.

“Are the bad people coming?” he asked.

His sister, Lily, didn’t say a word.

She simply shrank back against the sofa cushions, her small shoulders rising and falling with shallow breaths.

I knelt in front of them, trying to force a reassuring smile onto my face.

“No one is going to hurt you,” I said, though my hands were shaking.

“Evelyn is right,” Ryker said, turning back from the window. “I am not letting her take them.”

“Ryker, this is a court order,” Marco warned, stepping into his path. “If you refuse to hand them over to the police, it is kidnapping.”

“I don’t care,” Ryker said.