The driver reached back at the next red light.

"Phone."

I held it for one second too long. His expression told me not to test him.

I put the phone in his hand.

The screen was still lit. My message to Roman showed one word beneath it. Delivered. Good.

The driver powered

The buyer did not react to Cole's last sentence.

That frightened me more than anger would have. He only looked at the black recorder on the table. Then at me.

"Roman DeLuca values the child that much?"

Cole answered before I could.

"He will."

I kept my face still.

The first place Roman took me after the warehouse was not the estate.

It was a clinic. Not Harborview. A private one twenty minutes away. I hated every second of waiting.

Then the doctor said the words I needed.

"No bleeding. No abdominal trauma. Everything we can chec