My house is a thirty-minute walk from where we stopped to talk. But riding on the back of an Alpha, I reach my building in half the time. One problem remains: how I’m going to get inside. The two men lingering near the back entrance are still there. Only this time, they’re on their phones.

“…hasn’t left…No, we’ll wait. They should be here soon.”

I look at Alex, alarmed, and he whispers, “They must have arrived—”

“No, these guys were here when I left. My place was being ...