I didn’t have to wait long. A minute later I heard a high-pitched whine downstairs followed by an inhuman howl of pain. I almost knocked over a chair as I bolted from the kitchen like a frightened rabbit. Whatever was out there was determined to get inside. The troll magic was very powerful and it would protect me as long as I stayed inside but it could do nothing to stop the fear knotting my stomach.

You’re safe. Don’t panic. Nikolas would be here in a few hours. Nothing would hurt me or Nate once he was here.

Nate! What if he came home while that person or thing was outside? He wouldn’t have a chance.

I tore around the living room searching for my cell phone. My hands shook while I found the number Nikolas had put in my phone yesterday and listened to it ringing on the other end.

He knew something was wrong before I spoke. “Sara, what is it?”

“Something outside,” I wheezed before I regained my voice. “They’re trying to get in. The ward is holding but Nate’s not here. If he comes home and….”

My voice broke and I heard him swear then shout harshly at someone. “We’re coming. Stay right where you are and do not hang up. I’m going to stay on the phone until we get there. Do you hear me?”

“Maybe I should call Maxwell,” I told him, thinking the Knolls were a lot closer than Portland.

“No, stay on the phone with me,” Nikolas ordered. “Chris is calling them now.”

I heard a muffled sound then an engine starting. Nikolas’s voice sounded a little hollow when he spoke again and I realized he was using an earpiece inside his helmet. “I’m on the way.”

“Okay,” I said hoarsely, sinking down to sit against the wall farthest from the living room window. I pulled my knees toward me and laid my forehead against them as I prayed silently. Please, please let him get here before Nate does.

The phone in the kitchen rang and I jerked upright. “What was that?” Nikolas asked.

“The house phone. Maybe it’s Nate,” I said hopefully, scrambling to my feet. I rushed into the kitchen and snatched up the cordless phone with my free hand. Please let it be him.

“Sara Grey?” asked a thickly accented male voice.

“Yes?”

“I have your uncle.”

My legs started to fold and I leaned heavily against the cupboard as the cell phone in my other hand clattered loudly to the counter. I could hear Nikolas shouting but my whole body was riveted to the phone in my hand.

“I will make a trade – him for you,” the man continued in a businesslike manner. “If you care about him you will do this because I have no qualms about ending his life if I don’t get what I want.”

“I’ll do it,” I cried, gripping the phone so hard my knuckles turned white. “How do I know I can trust you to let him go?”

He laughed coldly. “You do not, but he will die if you do not come to me. I will give you ten minutes. After that his life is forfeit.”

“No! I’ll come.”

“Good girl. Go outside now. Someone is waiting to bring you to me.”

The click on the other end was like a cell door slamming shut. I was trapped. If I didn’t go, Nate would die. If I tried to stall until help got here, Nate would die. If I went, Nate might still die.

No. That is not going to happen, I swore as I laid the phone on the counter. Because I would die before I let anyone hurt him.

“Goddamnit, Sara, answer me!” yelled a furious Nikolas.

My hand was oddly steady when I put the cell phone to my ear again. “I’m sorry Nikolas, I have to go,” I told him flatly, guessing that he had heard enough of my conversation to know what I was going to do.

“Do not leave that apartment,” he said in a tone that few people would disobey. “I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Whatever it is, we can take care of it.”

“It’ll be too late.” I was already running upstairs to change. “They have Nate and they are going to kill him if I’m not there in ten minutes. I’ve made a lot of mistakes but I will not let Nate die because of them.”

“Sara, think about this. They are not going to just let your uncle go once they have you. If you do this you could die.”

“He’ll die for sure if I don’t go. I’m not going to hide here and do nothing while he’s killed. I couldn’t live with that.” I picked up my coat and knife and went back to the kitchen. “You were right, all I do is put the people I love in danger. It has to stop now.”

He started to say something but I hung up. I pulled on my coat and tucked the knife in the inside pocket. My cell phone rang and I knew it was Nikolas without looking at the number. I turned off the phone and stuck it in my back pocket before I let myself out and locked the door behind me.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I stepped outside but it wasn’t the eerie quiet that greeted me. There was no sign of whatever had tried to get past my wards except for a few black drops on the landing that looked like burnt blood. I turned away from it, shuddering violently.

The fog was still thick but already starting to lift, allowing me to see a black Escalade with a dented bumper in front of our building. At the bottom of the stairs I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart before I approached the SUV. As I drew near, the door opened and the muscled blond man from the marina got out. He did not speak as he opened the rear door for me. I noticed bloody bandages on his hands and I held back a smug grin. Is that your blood on my doorstep? I hope it hurts like hell.