Page 128 of In Shadows We Dance

“Don’t play dumb, Carlisle. Ileana Moreno is gone. And you’re going to tell me where she went.”

The corner of my mouth twitches into something that isn’t quite a smile.

My clever little ballerina has slipped their net.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Upstairs is clear,” one of the agents calls down, followed by the sound of another drawer slamming shut. “No sign anyone else has been here. Kid is disturbed though. Lots of photographs of the missing girl.”

Miller’s gaze darkens.

I shrug. “Taking pictures of my girlfriend is not a crime last I checked. Or are we arresting people for being romantic now?”

His jaw tightens, a vein in his temple popping as he works to keep his temper in check. Around us, his men tear through my house like they’re going to find her hiding under a couch cushion.

“This isn’t a joke, Carlisle.” Miller’s voice drops, roughened by something that sounds a hell of a lot like fear. “If we don’t find her?—”

Something clicks. His fear isn’t about her safety. It’s about something else. I study his face, catching the telltale twitch in his eyes, the tension pulling at the edges of his mouth. He isn’t just worried. He’sscared, and not in the way someone fears for a missing girl.

“What exactly are you afraid of?”

The shift in his expression is subtle, but I’m watching for it.

“What kind of threat justifies this kind of response?” I push, taking a step closer. “Four agents in the middle of the night? Searching my house like it’s a fucking war zone?”

“Operation Rossi Crown—” Miller snaps before catching himself, his face flushing.

I arch a brow. “Victor Rossi is dead. His empire in ashes. So what does an eighteen-year-old girl have to do with any of it?”

His eyes shift, a tiny movement, but enough to confirm I’m close to something.

“Stop pretending this is about her safety. This is aboutyou. About whatever you’re hiding. About how Ileana and her mother ended up in federal custody in the first place.”

“Stop.” But there’s a crack in his facade, and I’ve seen it now.

“You don’t understand the complexities?—”

“Thenexplainthem.” I take a step closer, my height dwarfing his. “Because from where I’m standing, there is no active threat that justifies kicking down doors in the middle of the night.”

He hesitates, the silence stretching between us, charged and brittle.

“She needs to be contained.” The slip is small, but I don’t miss it.

“Contained?” I echo. “Not protected, but contained.”

His neck flushes, color rising over his collar. “You’re twisting my words.”

“No.” My smile is slow and deliberate. “I’m listening very carefully. And you’re scared. Not of her disappearing. Not of her getting hurt. You’re scared of what happens when she talks. When she finally gets free of you. That’s it, isn’t it? There’s something about that operation. Something you’re hiding.”

“Enough.” His voice is strained.

“What are you going to do?” I lean in, my voice dropping to a whisper. “Arrest me? For what? Talking to a legal adult whochose to leave your protection?”

“She’s vulnerable.” He tries to cover his tracks, but it sounds weak. “No phone, no cards, no money.”

“All your rules. All your restrictions.” I ignore him, the full picture forming in my mind. “It never was about protecting her and her mother, was it? It was about controlling them. Isolating them.”

“You have no idea what you’re dealing with.” But his words are empty now, weak.

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