“I know,” I said, reaching for my shoes. “Luke is downstairs.”

“We have to go now.”

Nadia helped me slide my feet into my flat shoes.

Her hands were trembling as she zipped my coat.

“Where are we going?” she asked. “If Arthur has the courts, nowhere is safe.”

“Marco has a place,” I said. “A safe house near the storage units in Queens.”

A loud knock sounded at the door.

Nadia jumped, her hand flying to her mouth.

“Elena?” a voice called out from the hallway.

It was Vivian.

Nadia unlocked the door, and Vivian slipped inside, followed closely by Luke.

Luke’s hair was damp from the rain, his dark coat smelling of wet wool.

He came straight to me, taking my face in his hands.

His palms were warm, the only warm thing in the room.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his eyes scanning my face.

“I’m fine,” I said. “We need to go before they come up.”

Vivian looked out the small glass pane in the door.

“The service elevator is at the end of the hall,” she said.