"I saw them," she said, her voice rising to a harsh squeak. "I saw her talking to him, and I thought she was just..." She hesitated again. "I don't know. It's not like Madison to talk to strangers, but she's been doing a lot of weird things lately." Annie cast a long look at Rawn. He looked down at his hands, as though Annie had just reminded him of something he wasn't in the right frame of mind to remember.

"Did you hear what they were saying?" I asked.

Annie sat up again, shaking her head as she did. "I was too far away. It just seemed like a normal conversation, like they were talking about the window display inside the store they were standing outside of. But then she spotted me and started to wave."

"Wave, how?" Rawn demanded.

Annie seemed startled, almost as though she had forgotten he was there. She chewed at her lip for a second, thinking about it.

"Kind of like, hurry up. That's what I thought she was doing, rushing me because she wanted to get away from the guy. So I started walking faster. But as I did, the guy grabbed her arm and this black van-"

"Black van?"

She nodded. "A black van pulled up to the curb. I remembered seeing that the back door was open, and I didn't understand why it would be open while the van was moving."

"He put her in the van?"

"Yes."

"Did you see a license plate, or anything that might help us identify it?"

Annie looked down at the floor as she twisted the handkerchief in her hands, clearly struggling to remember. Rawn leaned forward, but he didn't touch her. He just stared at her until her hands began to shake.

"I don't remember anything."

"Are you sure? There wasn't a bumper sticker or a parking placard or something that would distinguish it from every other black van in the city?"

"No." Annie looked up, meeting his intense stare with wide, expressive eyes. "It was just a black van, one of those boxy ones with no windows, like a delivery van."

Rawn's hands folded into fists for a long second, but then relaxed. He touched Annie's knee again. "That's good," he said. "That helps."

"It doesn't. I know it doesn't. I wish I could remember more."

"It's fine."

Rawn patted her knee and then stood, making his way back to the corner bar. The tension in his shoulders seemed to have increased tenfold, turning them into slabs of concrete. He poured himself another glass of whiskey...or whatever it was, but he never lifted the glass to his lips. He just stood there and stared into its depths, as though there was some answer hidden there.

Silence fell heavy in the room, like a thick carpet. I reached over to comfort Annie, but the moment my hand brushed her shoulder, she reared up and stared at me with something like triumph in her eyes.

"I just remembered something," she hissed, the words meant to be a fine whisper, but came out more like something bellowed from a megaphone.

"What?" Rawn demanded, marching back over to where they sat. "What did you remember?"

Annie stared at me. A tickle began low on my spine that slowly moved up, tightening as it went. Gray. It was a gray day. I knew this couldn't be good.

"He said your name," Annie said, raising a finger to point-to accuse-at me.

"My-"

"What do you mean?" Rawn asked.

Annie glanced at him, but then both their gazes fell to my face.

"I heard him. He said, 'Sorry, Mellissa. It's nothing personal.'"

Cold fingers wrapped around my heart.

No. No. No.

I knew who it was. I knew now what they wanted. And it wasn't good.

Chapter Two.

I rushed out of the room, mumbling something about needing to use the restroom. Back inside the cool confines of that small room, I again paced, nausea building up so quickly that I was quite sure I was going to need the service of one of the commodes very soon.

This couldn't be happening.

We were so careful. No one was supposed to know where we had gone.

And then I was stopped cold by a sudden realization.

One person knew where we had gone. One person recognized me last week at the launch party.

One person could have tipped off my-Madison's-kidnappers.

I patted my pockets, looking for my cellphone, then remembered that it still sat on Rawn's desk where he'd dropped it after Annie's call.

Shit.

I slipped out of the ladies' room, sneaking a peek down the hall to make sure Annie or Rawn hadn't come in search of me. Then, I headed in the opposite direction, sliding into one of the many empty offices on this floor-the week after a launch was always a quiet time around Cepheus Scientific.

"Grandma?" I whispered into the phone the moment she answered. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, fine. Just watching my soaps. How are you, dear?"

"Something's happened, grandma."

"Oh? Does that mean you'll be home late?"

I closed my eyes, picturing my tiny, frail grandmother lying in her bed, the television remote clutched in her arthritic hands.

"Is the nurse there?"

"She's just gone downstairs to fix lunch."

"Good." That would have to be enough. For now. "Listen, I'll be home early. Tell her stick around until I get there."

"Of course. Have a good day, darlin'."

My grandmother hung up without waiting for a response.

I set the phone down, my thoughts whirling. This overwhelming need to get out of here, to go be with my grandmother, was growing like a heavy ball in my chest. But there was something I needed to do first.

I grabbed the phone again and dialed a number I shouldn't have known. My heart skipped a few beats as I listened to it ring, imagining the man on the other end of the line.

"We need to talk," I said the moment the call was answered. "Can you meet me?"

But-as I had already known-I didn't like what he had to say.

Madison The van stopped. I could no longer feel the vibrations of the engine under my hip. I used the leverage of the van's wall to inch myself up into a sitting position. I wanted to be prepared when the door opened and they reached inside to pull me out. But seconds, and then minutes, ticked by, and nothing happened.

I rolled my head back, the blindfold slipping away with that slight bit of pressure, and looked at the roof of the van, searching the darkness for something. What, I wasn't sure. But I couldn't just sit here and wait to be a victim. I had to fight.

I had to get out of here before the tingle in my fingers became a full blown MS attack.

Mellissa The police had arrived by the time I walked back into Rawn's office. Annie was more composed as they took her carefully through her story again. Rawn paced behind his desk, listening closely for anything new. But Annie had already revealed all she knew.

"Why don't you let me take you home?" I asked as Rawn showed the police down to the elevators.

"I don't think I can go back there," Annie said. "I don't know if I can be in that apartment without Madison, knowing that she might be-"

"Don't let yourself go there."

Annie's eyes filled with tears again. "I just...I keep thinking that I should have done something. I should have screamed for help or walked faster or...something."

"If you had tried to stop it, they might have hurt you, too."

"It would have been worth it." Annie dragged her fingers through her hair, a heavy sigh slipping from her lips. "I should call her parents. But after Allison...I don't know how they're going to handle this."

"Allison?"

"Madison's sister. She died a few years ago."

I could feel the color seeping from my face. I couldn't imagine how the guilt stretched across my shoulders could grow any heavier.

"What can I do?" I asked.

Annie attempted a soft smile, but didn't quite make it. "You're a good friend," she said. "I'm really glad you're here."

If only you knew.

The same security guard from before arrived just as Annie pulled her cellphone from her pocket.

"Mr. Jackman wants me to escort you home."

Annie didn't protest as I half expected. She simply stood and joined him in the doorway.

"Can you tell Rawn that I'd appreciate it if he keeps me in the loop? I want to know the moment he finds her."

"I will," I said.

As soon as she was gone, I grabbed my cellphone from Rawn's desk and headed out the door myself. But I didn't even get past his secretary's desk before Rawn and Conrad, Cepheus' PR guy, turned the corner.

"Mellissa," Rawn said as Conrad's eyes moved slowly-too slowly-over my face.

"I was just going back downstairs."

"Please stay," Rawn said. "We need to talk."

A sense of dread settled in my stomach even as I nodded. Rawn gestured for me to precede them into the office. I could imagine what it was he wanted to know. A dialogue, one I'd formulated a long time ago and often repeated, ran through my mind. An explanation as much as anything else.

"I know this seems odd," I began, but Rawn wasn't listening. He'd sunk onto the couch and had buried his face in his hands.

He really did love her.

"Tell me what you want me to do," Conrad said.

Rawn looked up, his eyes settling on my face rather than Conrad's. "They're going to figure out sooner or later that they took the wrong girl. And when they do..." A sick look settled on Rawn's face. His eyes fell to the floor for a long moment. He cleared his throat. "When they do, they'll likely want to rectify their mistake." He gestured toward me. "We'll have to be prepared."

Cold fingers wrapped themselves around my heart.

"You don't think it has anything to do with the Alessa 3D X100, do you?"

Again Rawn's eyes shifted to me before he stood. "I've got the entire security department out looking for Madison. I need you to keep Mellissa safe."

Conrad looked at me then, too.

I almost laughed.

"That really isn't necessary, Mr. Jackman," I said. "I can take care of myself."

"So could Madison."

The words hung in the air between us. The desire to laugh died.

And moments later, I found myself alone on an elevator with Conrad. He had his hand on the small of my back as the doors closed. The moment the elevator began to move, I stepped away from him.