Dominic shook his head immediately.

“No, Elena.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“I am not staying here waiting for a phone call,” I said, walking to the closet to grab my jacket.

“Lucia is asleep, and Mrs. Rossi is downstairs.”

“She will watch her.”

“If your mother gets to Hale before we do, everything falls apart.”

Dominic watched me slip my arms into the sleeves of my dark coat.

He knew he couldn’t convince me otherwise.

“Marco, leave the car running,” Dominic ordered.

“We go to Hale’s house in Queens.”

“If she’s gone, we look for the sedan.”

We walked down the narrow wooden stairs of the bookstore in silence.

The scent of old leather and dust faded as we reached the back door.

Cold rain was falling in Manhattan, slicking the cobblestones of the alley.

We climbed into the back of the black SUV.

Marco pulled out of the alley, the tires splashing through deep puddles.

The city lights blurred against the wet glass of the window.

I looked at Dominic, his profile illuminated by the passing streetlamps.

He was staring straight ahead, his jaw clenched.