A subdued but otherwise unharmed Miles offered to take me from Levi, but Levi shook his head and carried me into the elevator where Miles pressed seven. We silently glided upward past the first two floors where all police activity was centered and the next four dedicated to House corporate affairs.

I barely had the energy to hang on to Levi, but the brush of his shirt against my cheek and the steady beat of his heart banished all thoughts of the maggot sensation from my mind. Being ...