The flame burning inside of me became stronger as I saw myself further away from the one place that could get me closer to answers. I felt a mix of rage, desperation and confusion over everything that had been going on.

As Paxton pulled up into a spot inside The Oak H lot, I saw Mateo pacing in front of the main office. I got out of the car and jogged over to him, his face showing that I wasn't the only one confused and worried.

"Where is she?" I asked, not wasting any time.

He didn't doubt for a second what to answer, "She's inside. Hasn't said a word and I... tried."

I looked at him for a brief moment as I hung on the tone of his last words. Brushing it off I walked into the office right as Mr. Adler was trudging his way back into the main area. He looked up when he saw me and smiled.

"Dear girl, you and your friends just keep coming around," he said and chuckled. For a moment I had forgotten that we moved over to The Oak Hotel across the street.

I half smiled, "Sorry that we keep getting in your hair, Mr. Adler."

"Nonsense! You can always come grab some hot cocoa or treats, free of charge. You kids have kept an old man some company these days, and didn't I tell you that you can call me Tony?" he continued.

I remembered, "Right, Tony. Thank you."

He smiled like I hadn't seen before, his wrinkled cheeks reaching the edge of his eyes. It warmed my heart that this old man could seem a little grumpy, but he had such a kind soul. He seemed genuinely concerned with the well being of this group of random kids.

"Corina is in there and she's been more quiet than usual. Maybe you can get her to cheer up," he informed me.

"I'll try," I nodded.

The man pointed towards his right and I followed. There was a small room where a counter with a coffee machine and other quick breakfast essentials stood by a wall. At the far end, there was a small round table with four chairs, one of them occupied by Corina. She sat with her head down, absentmindedly stirring the drink in front of her. She slowly looked up as I sat across from her.

"Hey," I said, almost a whisper. Her eyes met mine for only an instant before she looked back down to her drink which looked untouched.

"Corina, I need you to talk to me. Losing sight of you and then the others finding you here... it's all confusing and worrisome. You can trust me. What's going on?" I continued.

It seemed like she wasn't going to budge, but she finally looked back up at me. "Mateo already tried to charm his way into my head, wanting to know everything. Isn't it enough that I'm okay?" she said.

I tried not to roll my eyes at her comment, "We thought we lost you! Of course I'm glad you're okay, but there's much more to this. Please, just tell me what happened between you and that man."

She paused, seemingly studying my expression before she spoke, "He just wanted to check how I was doing, but he didn't count on me having a group of people tagging along."

"So he decided to sweep you away from us? And you just followed like he owns you," I responded, annoyed.

Corina shook her head, "He's not how you think he is. He's good."

"How can you even tell?! He could be smothering you to keep you around his finger!" I began to get exasperated, but I stopped myself when I saw Corina's expression.

She bit her lip and her eyes pooled with tears, "I promise you I'm trying to help. I want this to end as much as you do."

"Then tell me what is going on!" I said.

She paused, considering, "He's been watching me, us. He wanted to speak to me alone, that's why he drove me here. Like I said, he just wanted to know how I was doing, but he also asked questions about you and your friends."

I sat there looking at her, processing her words, but waiting for more. She continued, "He said he was glad I wasn't alone, but that I needed to be careful who I got myself involved with. Especially since he is trying to keep me safe and away from the people that got me in this mess. He says he's trying to solve the problem, but..."

I met her gaze and asked, "But what?"

"You keep getting in the way. He says you all need to back off or there will be consequences," she answered, almost gritting her teeth.

I scoffed with unbelief, shaking my head, "And you still think he's trying to help?"

"All I got from that is that we need to be more careful. That's all. It was a warning," she replied.

"That was a threat, Corina! If you don't see that, you're delusional."

She looked away as she wiped off a tear rolling down her cheek. She shook her head and sighed before shifting her eyes back to me.

"Just be careful, Kerri-Ann. Maybe we need to stay put for now and just lay low. None of us truly know the depth of this mess, but what I do know is that I want to stay alive and go back home as much as you and your friends want to find Kimi," she said, lowering her voice and speaking calmly.

"I won't stop until I find her," I said.

"And I will help you, but you need to trust me on this. This man can probably do much more than I can for you."

"You're way in over your head. I hope he's not messing with your mind and taking advantage of you."

"He's not," she said matter-of-factly.

I nodded and stood to walk away leaving her alone with her reasoning, when a question popped into my head, "Of all places, why did he bring you here on the busiest and most crowded time of the year?"

Corina shrugged, "Mateo asked the same thing. I have no idea."

And with her response I turned around and walked outside of the office. Outside, I noticed Paxton was no longer in the parking lot, but Mateo was still waiting in front, leaning back on the wall. He straightened up and in two swift strides stood beside me.

"Did she tell you anything?" he asked.

"Just a bit, but enough to fuel me," I responded.

"You need to stop doing this," he said, looking straight at me, his jaw flexing.

"What?" I answered.

"Don't. Just stop for a second. You have to stop putting yourself and everybody else in danger. We're here to help, our motive is all the same, so stop running into the flood on your own, Kerri. We need to be smarter and more careful not just run after people that can be dangerous!"

"I'm sorry, Mat. Maybe you're right. We need to be more careful, but I won't stop," I turned on my heels, but before I could take a step forward I felt a grip around my arm.

As I turned around I saw Mateo's eyes searching for something unsaid in my face, while his hand loosened around my arm but didn't let go. Our eyes roamed over each other's faces for a short moment that felt like an eternity. His lips parted to say something, but he zipped them back up, second guessing himself. I felt his fingers gently loosen and make their way down to my open palm and in between my fingers. As if it was a natural thing my hand also tightened around his.

I felt my head shake as I considered what was going on between us. It felt electrifying and exciting, but there was so much in my mind all at once that I couldn't even begin to sort my emotions. It wasn't the right time.

I gently pulled my hand away from him, crossing my arms over my chest, looking away. I could feel his gaze over me and a million words left unsaid.

After a few seconds, Mateo broke the ice, "Tomorrow, bright and early. You and me. We'll see what we can find."

My head spun around, surprised at his words, "What's your plan?"

He gave me his million dollar crooked smile, "We'll see what are this guy's dirty little secrets, but you have to promise me you'll follow my lead."

"Deal," I said, smiling. "Bright and early, then. We better go recharge."

He snickered, taking a step toward me and rounding my shoulders with his arm. We made our way across the street with a sudden burst of confidence that the next morning might bring some sort of clarity to all of this.