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waves crashed on the sand. Nearby, a child squealed, and a mother scolded him.
    “You don’t know me,” Daniel said. “You don’t know her. You have no reason to help us. So I’m giving you a reason. Help me save her, and I won’t tell your secret to your mother, the police, or the tabloids, who would eat up the proof I have on my phone’s camera—and backed up in three places you won’t find—faster than you can imagine.”

Chapter 4
    Kayla could distract him and flee. Sand to the eyes would do nicely. But he knew her secret, he knew where she lived, and he knew who her mother was. Not to mention the itsy-bitsy fact that he could teleport. She’d have to knock him out cold if she wanted to really run.
    She took a deep breath and tried to
think
. He knew. But he needed her. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but here’s what I have so far: Your mother has been kidnapped. You need my help to save her. And you figured the best way to secure that help was to blackmail me, promising your silence in exchange for my assistance, instead of, you know, just
asking
me.”
    Quietly, he said, “You could have said no.”
    “I could still say no.”
    “But you won’t.”
    “You haven’t told me what you want me to do.”
    He clamped his hand around her wrist, and the world blinked again: dark, light, and this time, green. As the vertigo faded, her eyes adjusted. She was facing a hedge of dark green leaves punctuated with red hibiscus flowers the size of her hand.Garden gnomes lined the front of the hedge, and ceramic fairies were tucked underneath the branches. A breeze rustled the leaves, and a half-dozen wind chimes tinkled and tolled.
    Daniel parked himself on her mother’s favorite bench—the one Moonbeam had found at a yard sale, sanded down, and painted herself with symbols for a safe and happy home. Kayla clenched her fists and then forced them to unclench.
Stay calm, Kayla
, she ordered herself.
Keep control
. She could fly mulch into his eyes, bash him with a garden gnome, and hope he stayed knocked out long enough for her to run to Moonbeam’s shop and tell her … Tell her what? That Kayla had endangered them? That she’d used her power less than twenty-four hours after promising not to and a boy had seen? She’d break Moonbeam’s heart.
    Crap
. There had to be a way out of this. She had to try to salvage the situation. He needed her. That gave her the advantage, didn’t it? She drew in a breath, steadying herself.
    “Are you done?” he asked politely.
    “Sorry?”
    “Are you done running through all your options and deciding you should hear me out?” His hands were folded. His legs were stretched in front of him, feet crossed. He looked relaxed, as if he had all the time in the world.
    “I did mention that cockiness is not attractive, right?”
    “And that would be relevant if I were trying to pick you up. But I’m not. Please, hear me out.” He patted the bench next to him.
    She thought she heard a note of … maybe rawness, maybe desperation slip into that “please.” It occurred to her that he might not be as calm, cool, and collected as he seemed. Kayladropped onto the ground and sat on the grass, several yards from him and her mother’s bench. “Tell me a story, Danny-boy. I’m all ears.” She picked up a gnome by the ears and wiggled it, then set it down next to her.
    For an instant, he looked disconcerted. He recovered fast, but not fast enough for her to miss it.
I’m right
, she thought. He wasn’t as in control as he pretended to be. It was an act. She could unbalance him. “Five days ago,” he said, “my mother was kidnapped.”
    “And you came to harass me instead of going to the police like a normal human being.”
    “I
did
go to the police. Would you let me finish?”
    “Sorry. Carry on.” She waved her hand like she was a queen granting an audience. She’d seen Selena make that gesture a thousand times. It never failed to infuriate whoever was demanding her