“You will stay here,” Vincent said, gesturing to a small living room.

A single brown leather sofa sat in the center of the room.

A heavy steel door led back to the hallway.

“Are there guards?” I asked, looking around the empty space.

“Four men outside,” Vincent said. “No one enters this block without my knowledge.”

I sat on the edge of the sofa.

My wet shoes squeaked on the hardwood floor.

The silence of the room made the panic in my chest grow.

Without the locket, I felt completely untethered.

It was a small silver oval with a picture of my mother inside, taken when she was young.

Paul knew how much it meant to me.

If he found it, he would destroy it just to hurt me.

“Please, Vincent,” I said, looking up at him.

He stood by the window, peering through a small gap in the heavy blinds.

“I cannot focus on staying safe if I know he has it,” I said.

He turned his head slightly to look at me.

“You are safe here, Lena,” he said. “That is all that matters.”