We slipped past the gatehouse just as the first state patrol car screamed past us, its siren a deafening shriek in the narrow street.

They did not even look at our dark van.

They were too focused on the burning yacht and the chaos at the pier.

I leaned my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes.

The green light on my phone screen in my pocket was still blinking.

It was a notification.

A message from an unknown number.

I pulled the device out and tapped the screen.

The brightness hurt my eyes for a second.

The message was brief, only a single line of text.

My chest tightened as I read the words.

*You think you stopped him, Dante,* the message read.

*But Kane was only the hand.*

*The shadow is still watching.*

I stared at the screen, the warmth of the van suddenly feeling very far away.

Beside me, the heater hissed, blowing hot, dry air into the quiet cabin.

I looked back at Isabella, but she was already asleep, her head resting against the cold window glass.