“He thought he could trade the girl for your silence,” Tessa said.

“But I do not negotiate with people who have nothing left to offer,” she said. “Enjoy the dark, Maren.”

The line went dead with a sharp click.

I dropped the receiver back onto the cradle.

Marcus stared at me, his hand still resting on his holster.

“We need to move,” he said. “The backup generator didn’t fail by accident. We’re exposed here.”

I looked down at the silver key, the metal cold against my skin.

Suddenly, the glass doors of the clinic’s side entrance shattered with a loud crack.

Marcus spun around, raising his pistol toward the sound.

Two of our guards moved into defensive positions, their heavy flashlights cutting through the dust.

A dark figure stumbled through the broken frame.

He was soaked to the skin, his coat torn and dripping with river water.

Dark blood ran from a deep cut on his temple, mixing with the rain on his face.

In his arms, wrapped in a thick, waterproof tactical bag, was a small bundle.

“Rowan,” I gasped.

He did not speak.