Reckoning (31 page)

He looks at me steadily. “I don’t know.”

I release my breath in a long, shaky sigh. It isn’t the answer I want, but it’s better than what I’d been bracing myself for. The resolve that had begun forming earlier grows stronger.

I will find her.

I will bring her back.

“So where do I start?”

His lips turn up in a small smile, and a flash of respect crosses his face. He extends his hand. I take it, the tremors shooting up my arm filling me with new strength, and step inside.