Dion lives in an abandoned building that somehow still has electricity and running water. "Don't worry," he tells me, "Daisy stays in a hotel when she visits."

I frown as he replaces the board over the open doorway he'd brought us in through. "Can you not afford a place to stay?"

"No one will hire me."

"But you should get disability," I say. "You're disabled, aren't you?"

He stands next to the board, his fists balled at his sides. "I wasn't always like this," he whispers. "I was good at my job and I was smart, like my Daisy. Then, my parents and my wife died in a car wreck. I was supposed to go with them, but Daisy was sick. She was so small and I didn't think traveling would be good for her. My wife wanted to stay too, but I insisted she go on that trip with my parents." Tears flood his eyes and he scrapes a hand down his face. "It should've been me." He shakes his head. "Everything started going downhill after that. When I stopped being able to pay our bills, I sent Daisy to my sister's. That's when I started drinking... and I didn't stop."

I don't speak. I'm not sure there's anything to say. Maybe I'm sorry, but who wants to hear that?

"I haven't touched a bottle since she went missing," he says, gruffly. "I'm done with that. I won't rest until I know she's safe."

Now, I go to him and grab his shoulders, my hands firm on him. "You're no good to her if you're tired and weak, Dion. You did the right thing, allowing me to help. Give me and my friends some time-."

"She may not have time," he whispers. "I was so late. I'm always late."

"Not this time," I promise. "You're smart, Dion. You know there's certain things you can't do on your own. If you want to help Daisy, the best thing you can do is let us help. I'll make sure you're taken care of. My friends you saw tonight are going to swing by every couple of days and make sure you're doing okay. They'll update you as soon as we know anything about your daughter. Can I trust you to not try anything dangerous again?"

He chews on his lip, worries the skin of his scalp. He nods. "You can trust me. Can I trust you?"

I squeeze his shoulders. "I promise."

Dion nods again. "Okay." His hand coils around my wrist and his dark eyes hold mine. "Please. Bring my daughter back to me."

I refuse to promise that. That's a promise I wouldn't want to break. I nod. "I'll try my best, Dion. I swear that to you."

He shuffles to a mattress on the floor and sits with his head in his hands.

I hate leaving him here like this, but Tae and Tomas will be here tomorrow with food and blankets. Or maybe they'll take him to a safe house that Tae's mentioned. Either way, there's nothing I can do for him tonight without getting caught and sanctioned.

When I return to base, I'm already going to get reprimanded for my actions tonight.

It's best not to try my luck.

My commanding officer is more exhausted than anything when I enter her office. She tells me to get some sleep and assigns me to trash duty for a week as punishment.

When I slip into my room, Ryan is already asleep. I wave my hand in front of his face to make sure he's not faking. Then, I pull the side table we share free from the wall. I give him one more glance before pulling Dion's gun from my waist band and securing it behind the side table.

I'll need to figure something better out later, but for now, I'm exhausted, so it'll have to do.

I crawl into my bed and lay facing the ceiling. How am I supposed to get Tarak to help me? I know he'll help me if I ask, but I don't want him to do it for me. I don't want him to do it at all, but it could be my only chance to put a stop to whatever Singh is up to. I roll onto my side, facing Ryan.

If I trusted him, I'd send him instead.

My heart sinks, because I know I wouldn't.

Tarak really is the only option.

I'm just too in love with him to be happy about putting him in danger.