Chapter 7

By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, Perry had ordered two guards in front of the kitchen door.

The pounding came again.

"Ines!"

A woman struck the other side with both hands. The oak shook inside its frame.

"Please open the door!"

Leo stood closest to the lock. He was twenty-eight, broad across the shoulders, with a pistol beneath his jacket and fear written plainly across his face.

"Open it," I said.

Perry came through the dining room behind him.

"Nobody opens that door."

Her voice was calm. She had already recovered from the empty chairs. The…