When she could see straight again, all she saw was Roy coming for her.

  "You'll never get to Meghan," he said. "I'll do anything to protect her."

  Nicky went to pull out her gun, but Roy hit her over the head a second time.

  She fell over. Still seeing double, she couldn't tell if the pain was coming from the blow to the head or the fall.

  She didn't know what was going on. But she knew one thing.

  He was responsible for the sudden shift.

  The man was getting closer. She had to fight him off, or he'd kill her.

  "It's you," he said. With a crazed smile, he mounted her, wrapping his hands around his throat. No. Nicky tried to knee him, but it didn't work. "You're the one I've been looking for," he said. "You're my true love. It's been you all along."

  His voice sounded like a nightmare. He was a maniac. He had a look in his eyes that Nicky had only ever seen on one person.

  Her own captor.

  "I'm not yours!" Nicky yelled.

  "You are," he purred. "You will be. Forget the others. It's just you and me."

  "That's not how it works," Nicky said. "How do you make a woman love you? How do you force a woman to stay with you? It's not real, Roy!"

  "I can't win against you," he said. "There's something inside of you. Something strong. Something I can't take away."

  He was talking pure nonsense. Nicky tried to push him off, but his weight was crushing down on her, clamping on her throat, and she couldn't catch a breath. Nicky started to see stars.

  "You can't hate me," he said. "You can't hate me."

  The maniac was whispering in her ear.

  "You love me... you love me..."

  Her vision faded to white.

  Was this it?

  Was it really ending for her, yet again?

  She thought of dropping into that lake with her hands tied behind her back, the moonlight through the rippling surface of the lake...

  At least back then, she was with Rosie.

  She pretended she was back there now. With Rosie at her side. But she didn’t think of the lake, not anymore. She imagined them at the beach, or in the pool, when they were kids. Reaching for each other’s hands. Blowing bubbles…

  I love you, Rosie, Nicky thought. I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you.

  The last thing she heard was the man’s horrible voice, whispering, "And I love you too.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  Air swept into Nicky's lungs. She gasped and grabbed at her neck. The boiler room basement materialized around her.

  She was alive. Nicky's heart was pounding. She felt the rhythmic pulse racing in her chest. Her skin tingled.

  But a struggle unfolded in front of her. It was Ken. He'd pulled Roy off her--but Roy dove at him like a rabid animal. Ken had his gun out, but Roy grabbed his arms and held them in place. A gunshot went off, sending ripples of pain through Nicky's eardrums.

  Nicky tried to stand, but the pain in her head was excruciating. She was woozy. Her limbs felt heavy, as if they were numb. She got up and coughed. The air smelled of oil and sulfur. It was heavy and thick. She could smell the sweat and rotten gas emanating from the boiler.

  A long deep inhale and exhale. The first breath in and the first breath out.

  Then she pried herself up and looked around. The room was destroyed, covered in dust and broken glass. Her vision was distorted.

  Help. You have to help.

  Nicky watched, paralyzed. Roy punched Ken in the face. Ken fell backward.

  And Roy was on Ken before Nicky knew what was happening. Roy's fist came down hard, hitting Ken in the nose. Blood flowed from the wound and pooled on the ground.

  No.

  She had to do something.

  Nicky reached for her gun, but it wasn't there.

  Ken was too thrown off by the punch to resist. Somehow, in the struggle, Roy had disarmed Ken--and now the gun was pointed right at him.

  Roy aimed.

  "For your love," he said.

  He was going to fire.

  But Nicky didn't think. She just dove into action. She tackled Roy, and the gun went off--but it hit the ceiling. The gunpowder burned her nose. The roof collapsed in on itself. She saw the ceiling crack, the beams bend and snap. Immediately, plaster fell sprinkled on top of them. The force of the shot was enough to knock them both off their feet.

  Nicky slapped Roy's wrist in the perfect way to force him to drop the weapon--and she grabbed it. She stood up and pointed it right at him. Roy was on his knees, and he froze when he realized that she had the upper hand.

  She aimed at his forehead.

  His eyes were wild.

  His smile, growing. Almost begging her to do it.

  She could shoot him right here. He'd deserve it. He was an animal who needed to be put down after what he did.

  She thought of the faces of all those dead women. Her eyes burned.

  "You son of a bitch," she said.

  "Do it, if you must, my love," he said.

  Her hands shook. Behind her, Ken said, "Lyons, it's over."

  "It's not over!" Nicky shouted. "People like him deserve to die!"

  When she looked down at him, she didn’t see Roy anymore.

  She saw the man. The one who’d taken her and Rosie.

  The amount of times Nicky had dreamed of killing that man. Of making him pay. Of taking away all his power. Of getting revenge for what he’d done to Rosie.

  She could do it right here. Shoot this bastard. Put him down.

  "I know," Ken said, "but we need to do this by the books."

  Ken’s sensible voice bled through. Nicky took a moment. She opened her eyes and looked down at Roy, really looked.

  He was not her captor, or Rosie’s. He was just some other sick bastard. Did he deserve to die? Yes. But Nicky was a federal agent. She did things by the books.

  "He doesn't get the easy way out," Ken said. "He's gonna rot in jail for the rest of his miserable existence."

  "That's right," Nicky said. She realized then that would be a worse punishment than death for him. "He'll never get married again."

  Roy's eyes glossed over. "No! Just kill me! Kill me!"

  "No." Nicky lowered the weapon. Ken came over and kicked Roy to the ground, slapping cuffs on his wrists. Nicky stood over him with her arms crossed.

  It was over.

  He was caught.

  ***

  Nicky and Ken dragged Roy upstairs, into the parking lot, greeted by the night, just as the police were arriving. The night sky was ablaze with red and blue light. Police sirens wailed in the distance.

  By Roy's car, Meghan and Lauren were alive, with blankets over their shoulders, being comforted and questioned by a female officer. Nicky let out a breath of relief. But still. None of it felt real. Was it really all over?

  "You okay?" Ken asked.

  "It's over," Nicky said. "Thank God. For once, everything's okay."

  But there was more to do. A few FBI agents next to a black car spotted them, and Ken brought Roy over to them, shoving him into their custody. Roy stole one last look at Nicky before he was shoved in the back of the car.

  Good riddance.

  Nicky went over to Meghan and Lauren--and Meghan instantly threw herself at Nicky, hugging her tight.

  "You saved my life!" she cried.

  Nicky’s heart swelled. She wasn’t much of a hugger, but she hugged Meghan back, so grateful that this hadn’t ended the way it did with Masie.

  "I had to," Nicky said.

  "I don't know how I can ever thank you," Meghan said, pulling away with tears in her eyes.

  "You don't have to," Nicky said. "I'm just glad you're alive."

  "We're both alive," Lauren said.

  Meghan pulled back and looked at Nicky. "I can't believe you did it."

  Nicky blinked back tears. In this moment, every heartbreak she'd been through as an FBI agent was worth it. She'd won. She'd saved the girl.

  "Your parents will be so relieved to see you," Nicky said to Meghan. "I know they were worried sick."

  "I miss them so much,” Meghan said. “I can’t believe they thought I was dead all this time. But I survived.”

  "So did I," Lauren said.

  "Yeah," Nicky said. "We all did."

  Meghan and Lauren smiled and hugged her again. Nicky sighed. She was so grateful.

  "Agent Lyons," a booming male voice suddenly said. Nicky turned to see Sheriff Corbin, his hands looped to his belt. "Sorry to break up the moment. A word?"

  Nicky looked at Meghan and Lauren. "You two are safe now. That man will never see the light of day again, I promise."

  "Thank you," Meghan said. "Thank you."

  Nicky nodded at them and strolled away with Sheriff Corbin. Compared to the first time she'd met him, the man was a lot less hostile. Nicky hoped that seeing a crime as real and horrific as this was enough to get his head on straight.

  "Well, Sheriff," Nicky said, "I hope--"

  "You don't have to lecture me, Agent Lyons. I know."

  Nicky nodded. "Do things by the books from now on. The FBI might be keeping an eye on your precinct."

  The sheriff laughed a belly laugh. "Well, we'll work on that, but there's one issue that you feds didn't exactly clean up. Frank Katz's nephew is innocent, and he's threatening to sue."

  "Let him sue, then," Nicky said. "We'll deal with it. We had reasonable cause to arrest Jordan. And he ran from us when he saw us, which he shouldn't have done if he were innocent.”

  "Yeah, well, the kid's got issues, but he's not a killer." Corbin gazed off at the car that Roy was inside. Ken was talking to the other agents beside it. "To think all this time, something so horrific was happening... what you two found in that warehouse has to be one of the most gruesome things to ever happen in this part of the world."

  "It was," Nicky agreed. "But it's over now."

  “Anyway… I wanted to say thanks,” Corbin said.

  Nicky nodded. “It’s my job, Sheriff.”

  The sheriff took off, and Nicky went to meet with Ken. He broke away from the other agents and met with her in front of the old apartment building. Nicky looked at it, taking in the burnt wood and brick, imagining what life was like here before the fire--maybe, long ago, this was a beautiful place to live.

  Now it was all ashes and ruined dreams.

  "Hey," Ken said. Nicky met his blue eyes and half-smiled. "You really saved my ass back there," Ken said.

  "Are you kidding?" Nicky almost laughed. "That bastard was choking the life out of me until you came in."

  "Yeah, but he would've shot me in the face if you hadn't acted. I almost died, but you had my back, Lyons. Thanks."

  Nicky wasn't sure what to say. She was happy he was okay. That was all the thanks she needed. "You're welcome, Walker. Guess we don't make a half-bad team."

  “Guess not.”

  They shared a lingering smile. Things felt good between them now. Maybe they weren’t the best friends in the world, but Nicky had respect for him, and he had respect for her.

  And Nicky would be happy to keep working with Ken at her side.

  They’d won this case, but there were way more girls out there who had never been found.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  "Well, you three really did it," Senator Amara Gregory said as she paced the front of the briefing room back in Jacksonville. Feeling proud, Nicky sat at the table with Ken, Grace, and Chief Franco.

  "Told you they were fine agents," Chief Franco said.

  "Agent Lyons and Agent Walker did all the hard work," Grace said, her cheeks flushed.

  "No way," Nicky said. "Without your help, we would've taken way longer to figure out where we needed to be. Thanks, Grace."

  "Well, I'm glad you all get along," Amara said. "You really came through. Meghan Salinger is safe and alive, back with her family. I went and visited them yesterday. They can't believe their daughter is home. I offered to cover all of the therapy Meghan will need to recover from this horrible kidnapping."

  Nicky smiled. Senator Gregory was a good woman. Nicky just wished she'd been able to save her daughter too. But Amara was strong; she was looking forward, not backwards, and Nicky admired that. Sometimes she needed to do that too.

  "I have to admit," Chief Franco said, looking at Nicky and Ken, "I had some doubts about pairing you two together. But Senator Gregory wanted our best field agents on the job. Clearly, that was a good call."

  Nicky felt her face heat. "Agent Walker's not so bad when you get to know him."

  Ken just sat in the chair with his arms crossed, saying nothing, but Nicky knew they'd come to the same mutual respect.

  "One thing doesn't quite make sense to me, though," Franco said. "How'd you find the warehouse in the first place?"

  Nicky thought back to Bernard Brown, to the eerie words he'd said. "All roads lead to home."

  "It was a hunch, sir," Nicky said.

  "Hell of a hunch," Franco added. "Well, either way, I'm glad you nailed it." He faced Amara. "Senator Gregory, I think there was something you wanted to ask these three."

  "Yes." Amara smiled at them, clasping her hands together over her terracotta dress-suit. "As we discussed before, Meghan Salinger was only the first of several missing women in the county. It's an alarming number of them. I'd like to ask Agent Walker and Agent Lyons, with the help of Grace here, to take on the rest of the cases. A permanent position as my task force specifically dedicated to finding these missing girls."

  Not long ago, Nicky would have been afraid of the commitment. Afraid that she might fail. But she'd saved Meghan. She'd won.

  "I'll definitely think about it," Nicky said.

  "Same," said Ken.

  "Well, you can count me in!" Grace replied.

  "Perfect," Amara said. "That's all I can ask. If it were up to me, every missing girl would be found. We can only focus on one at a time, but I have so much confidence in you all."

  "It's an honor, Senator," Nicky said.

  Amara walked over to stand in the middle of the room. "We're so lucky to have such excellent agents in our midst." She looked at Grace. "And you've certainly proven yourself to be one of the best techs around. I'm glad you're leveraging your skill to our advantage."

  Grace blushed and gave Amara a nod. The senator nodded back, and then headed to the door. “Think about what I said, Agents,” Amara said. “I’ll be in touch soon.” With that, Amara left the room.

  "She's a good woman," Chief Franco said. "We should be proud to work with her.”

  Nicky nodded. A solemn silence filled the room. She and Ken sat there, thinking of all the women who'd gone missing. Of Meghan. Of all the lives she'd saved.

  "Hey."

  Nicky turned to Ken.

  "For what it's worth, I think you can do this," Ken said. "You were a good leader, Lyons. Your instincts were spot on. And that’s coming from someone who hates sharing the spotlight.”

  Nicky smiled. “Thanks, Walker.”

  Everyone stood up and shook hands—except for Grace, who went for a hug. Then, they all broke apart. Job well done. Much more to do. Nicky had the rest of the day off, and she considered going to sit on a patio and have a nice cold beer—but maybe that wasn’t what was best for her right now.

  There was someone she hadn’t seen in a while, someone she’d been meaning to visit.

  ***

  The walls of Dr. Graham's office were a deep red, with a fish tank on one wall. Nicky sat in his chair, facing her psychiatrist as he calmly spoke. The water in the tank was cloudy and green, and the fish swimming around it were silver and gold. The light from the window reflecting off of the water made the fish swim in circles. Nicky felt calm and at ease in Dr. Graham's office.

  "Miss Lyons," Dr. Graham said, "I didn't expect to see you for a while."

  Nicky gave him a tight smile. Dr. Graham used to have Nicky on medication for her anxiety and PTSD, but even though it made the flashbacks go away... well, Nicky didn't like that. Because the flashbacks, the memories--they were all she had left of Rosie.

  "I'm just here to talk, not for any meds," Nicky said.

  "I know. You know I'm your therapist too."

  Dr. Graham was an older man with thinning gray hair. He always wore a suit, but his tie was loose around his neck. Nicky had been seeing him for a few years now.

  "Do you think you're actually up to talking?" he asked.

  "Absolutely," Nicky said. A real smile came to her face. "I'm looking forward to it."

  "Well, I'm glad," Dr. Graham said. "Because it's been a while since we talked. How are you, really, Nicky?”

  "Good. Getting better."

  "I’m glad to hear it. You're doing well in your job?"

  "I'm just making it up as I go," Nicky said. "But we just had a major win, so I'm doing okay."

  "Good. Drinking less?"

  "On the job? Of course," Nicky said cheekily.

  Dr. Graham laughed. "You know what I mean."

  Nicky sighed, going quiet for a moment. "I have a drink sometimes, but it's nothing detrimental."

  "Just be careful. You know it... runs in your blood."

  It struck a chord for Nicky, and she paused.

  For the first time in a long time, she thought of her father.

  He had never been a great man, or a particularly good father. But after Rosie had disappeared, he hit the bottle hard. Work started to suffer. He lost his job. He got fired. Then, he went on a bender and ended up in jail. He wasn't there long, but when he got out, he was even more of a monster.

  Nicky hated that her father had let her down. She hated his behavior, and she hated that she had failed to save Rosie.

  He had always blamed her. Just like she'd blamed herself.

  Other times, he'd be so drunk that Nicky wondered if he'd even remembered Rosie's name. He did things that drove her mother crazy. If Nicky hadn't been there, she didn't know if her mother would have gotten through it all.

  Given that her mother had been as broken as Nicky, she doubted it. One day, Nicky had gone to her mother and told her she was moving away to become an FBI agent. Her mother had hugged her, and said she was proud of her.