Chapter 66

If Marcus were a bad person, why couldn’t she sense it? If he intended to hurt Jesse, why didn’t she know? Why couldn’t she do anything to warn him? To protect him? And why Jesse? What had he ever done to Marcus?

What if Marcus Brooker wasn’t responsible for Jesse’s disappearance at all? Gideon thought Marcus was a reasonable place—the right place—to start looking. But what if his meetings with the strange man and his disappearance were just a coincidence? What if they were looking in the wrong place, for the wrong things? What if they were wasting time?

She flagged down a cab and gave Brooker’s address. She spent the entire journey practicing the speech she would use to get past his secretary. She was so wrapped up in what she would say, it never even occurred to her that she would be blocked. A security guard at the door stopped her with a hard look and a raised hand.

“Can I see your security pass, please?”

“Security…I don’t have one.”

“Then you can’t go inside.”