The second floor held four doors off a narrow hallway. The bathroom was empty. So was the first bedroom, although the bed had clearly been slept in recently.
The next door wouldn’t open.
I tried the handle once before stepping back.
“Millie?”
Nothing answered.
I kept my voice low, painfully aware that an eight-year-old girl who had spent months under Havoc’s control probably had no reason to trust a strange man appearing outside a locked door.
“My name’s Nixx. Your mom sent me to get you.”
There was movement inside.
Not enough for footsteps. More like someone shifting away from the door.
Benny heard it too. His eyes met mine before I tried again.
“Millie, your mom is alive. She’s waiting for you.”
The silence stretched long enough that I started wondering whether the room held a
