I can hardly breathe for the duration of the press conference. There are so many people crammed into our house, so many cameras, so many flashing lights and shouting voices. The way everyone talks about Parrish—like he’s already dead—infuriates me.

That, and I’m struggling with the normal anxiety that comes with being in front of a crowd of people. It’s a lot to deal with. Especially when Justin introduces himself for the camera. His assistant with the zebra glasses is in here coordinating things for him.

It’s all so … seamless.

Tess is absolutely right: this wasn’t something he thought of on the fly.

Oh no, he’s been planning this for some time—since the day I arrived in Washington state. Maybe before. But what I can say for certain is that the heart pin was in my drawer the moment I walked into that bedroom, just waiting for me.

Justin knew. He already fucking knew. And on top of that, he must’ve already had a plant in the house to get that pin inside my nightstand drawer.

When he introduces the name—and purpose—of the app, I almost lose my shit.

“Fortunately, my daughter is already returned safely to me,” Justin says, sitting beside Tess and Paul on the couch. “But I’ve spent the last fourteen years of my life developing this very tech: tech that’s meant to bring lost children home through facial recognition. If we hadn’t had such luck locating Dakota, I’d intended on using our new app to bring her home.” He turns to the sea of reporters with such a genuine expression on his face that I’d likely believe him—you know, if he hadn’t kidnapped my crush and tortured him by cutting giant gouges in his chest every day for fourteen days. “Instead, I’m dedicating every resource that my company has at its disposal to help my ex-wife find her son.”

He reaches out and puts a hand atop Tess’. To her credit, her expression doesn’t change one bit. She’s got that power bitch neutral thing going on.

“I dream of a world where no child is ever separated from their parents, where no child ever goes missing.” Justin accepts a milk carton from his assistant, setting it on the table and turning it around so that a child’s smiling face is beaming at the camera. The words above her head read MISSING CHILD.

She is … me .

I recognize the baby picture as one of the ones that was on the Netflix documentary that changed—and ruined—my entire life. But also … my eyes slide over to where Chasm’s standing at the edge of the crowd. He’s full-on slouchy bad boy today, one foot kicked up against the wall, the sleeves of his Whitehall Prep dress shirt rolled up to reveal inked forearms. He’s even got a cigarette stuck between his lips, unlit and hanging.

Our eyes meet.

If I had the chance, would I rewind time and turn that documentary off, start up a K-drama while Nevaeh bitched and Sally sighed dramatically? Would I do all that knowing what I was giving up?

The answer to that question terrifies me.

I turn my attention back to Justin.

“We’ve come a long, long way since grainy black and white photos and simply hoping for the best. That’s why my new app—Milk Carton—was created: not just for peace of mind, but to dig into dangerous situations and discover the truth. Whether Parrish Vanguard is alive or dead, we’ll find him.”

I cannot be the only person in that room who shudders at the way he says it.

The crowd is abuzz with chatter and shouted questions, but I don’t pay attention to any of it.

All I can think is: what the hell happens next in all of this?

“What the fuck did I just miss?” Maxx asks, staring at Justin Prior from across the hallway. He’s just come back from the track, and there’s a fine layer of dust on his green, black, and white riding gear. He’s a bit sweaty, and his dark hair is mussed up from being stuck inside a helmet all day.

He must’ve rushed back here after getting Chasm’s text about Justin—he didn’t even stop to shower.

I refuse to allow myself to appreciate any of that, either his appearance or his dedication.

“This is my … biological father, Justin Prior,” I explain, gesturing to the man standing near the front door. Maxx, Chasm, and I are clustered near the garage door watching the man with unbridled suspicion. Tess and Paul are out front, finishing up with the last of the reporters.

Justin, thankfully, is on his way out. His assistant is helping him into what appears to be an absurdly expensive suit jacket.

Maxx just stares at the man with a gaze so dark that it gives me chills. When he turns it over to me, I shiver involuntarily.

“This is the bastard who has Parrish?” he murmurs as Chasm studies my bio dad with an expression very similar to the one X is wearing. If given the chance, I think any one of us might just stab the creep. If I at all thought it would be that easy to solve our problems, I’d do it. But I don’t know where Parrish is. I don’t know how many people like Mr. Volli are working for Justin. I also really don’t want to spend the rest of my life in prison. All of that, of course, depending on me actually getting the opportunity to kill the guy without him retaliating and killing me instead.

“That’s him, alright,” Chasm mutters, flicking his tongue against one of his black lip studs. “I’ll give him this: the bastard’s got balls.”

“Balls?” Maxx asks, cracking his knuckles. He’s actually still wearing his riding gloves. Yep. He must’ve seen the text and then just taken off in his Jeep without hesitation. “He’s psychotic. What does he think he’s going to accomplish by coming here?”

The assistant with the zebra glasses exits through the front door as Justin turns back to the three of us—fully aware even as he’s smiling at us that we all know the things he’s done, that he’s made us do, that he will do if given the chance.

That he’ll kill Parrish.

“I’ll tell you what he hopes to accomplish: taking Dakota out for a daddy-daughter luncheon tomorrow.” Chasm keeps his voice low when he says this, even as Justin holds out his arms like he’s offering me another hug.

“A goodbye squeeze for daddy?” he offers, and I swear, it’s like I can feel those words whiplash through Maxx like a storm. He’s moving before I can even think to stop him, and then he’s throwing a hard punch and clocking Justin Prior right in his pretty face.

The Seattle Slayer stumbles back against the wall, his hand over the lower half of his face. I can already see blood. It blooms on the white marble floor beneath his feet like a sea of wild roses.

“Maxx, stop!” I shout at the same time that Chasm curses, and then we’re both grabbing X by the arms and hauling him back. When Chas first touches him, he jerks his arm away with enough strength to send the other boy stumbling, but when I touch him … he goes almost disturbingly still. His green eyes flick down to mine, and I think about all the warnings that Chasm gave me regarding Maxx.

X turns his attention back to Justin as my bio dad pulls his hand away from his mouth, staring down at the red in his palm with a placid expression that scares me about a hundred times more than a scowl or a sneer might have.

This man is goddamn terrifying.

I see now that everything I’ve done for Parrish thus far was absolutely necessary. Looking at Justin now, do I really think he’d kill Parrish if I disobeyed him?

Oh, yeah, you bet I do.

“You really shouldn’t have done that,” he remarks casually, lifting his cold blue eyes up to Maxx’s face and smiling. Maxx is shaking right now, his hands squeezing into fists so tight that I can hear the creak of his riding gloves. I keep my tight grip on his arm as Chasm hovers on X’s left, ready to grab him again if necessary. Justin turns his attention to me. “Did I not tell you to choose your pawns carefully?”

He shakes his hand out, splattering yet more blood on the floor.

“If you kill Parrish, I will hunt you down,” X says, his voice this even, dark, dreadful thing. “And you won’t like what I’ll do to you when I find you.”

Justin laughs, removing his pocket square to dab at the blood streaming from his nose.

“That’s cute, Maxx Wright. Very cute.” He lifts his gaze up to mine again.

“What’s the point of all this anyway?” I whisper, squeezing X’s arm even tighter when I feel him tense up. He’s on the verge of losing his shit completely; I can feel it. If any one of us were going to kill Justin, I can easily see who the most likely candidate would be.

“It’s payback, princess,” Justin says easily, pulling his phone from his pocket. “Raúl, I need a new shirt and jacket. I seem to have experienced an unfortunate nosebleed.” He hangs up and puts his phone away, studying the three of us with undisguised interest. “Surely you’ve heard stories about me already?”

“Not many,” I admit, knowing that the honest truth will upset him the most. He wants me to know about him. He wants me to know everything there is to know about his and Tess’ relationship, everything about his past, about his exploits. “When I asked Tess who my dad was initially, she said he was just some old boyfriend that she didn’t remember. I never even heard your name mentioned until you made me ask about it.”

That does it.

A muscle in Justin’s jaw ticks, but he calms himself with a deep exhale. His eyes find the framed birth certificate on the wall nearby and he taps at the glass with his knuckles, giving a low, dangerous sounding laugh. I wonder why the field for father has been left blank? Is this not my real birth certificate? Did Tess have him removed from it? Or was Justin Prior never on it at all?

“Well, I’ll tell you this right now: the people in this town are not who you think they are. They’re filthy, greedy liars who care more about themselves than the relationships they forge. I’m sure you’ve noticed how easily they’ll turn on you? Lumen Hearst, for example. Little more than animals.” Justin pauses as his assistant, Raúl apparently, reenters through the front door with a fresh jacket and dress shirt in hand. “Even if you don’t see it now, you will. I’ll make sure of that.”

Justin doesn’t seem to care that his assistant is standing right there. He continues to talk freely. That gives me yet another clue to work with. Mr. Fosser was clearly in his employ as is Mr. Volli. Apparently, so is Raúl. And I don’t just mean that the man collects a paycheck.

“This town and its horrible, horrible people stole everything that I had and then some. Now, they’re going to see what happens when karma gets involved.” Justin motions down the hall. “I’m assuming there’s a bathroom somewhere in this lovely Vanguard home?” He very nearly scowls when he says that, offering up yet another intentional clue.

Justin doesn’t like Paul; I could see that right off the bat. And I don’t just mean that he doesn’t jibe with him. I think he’s jealous of his relationship with Tess.

“Down the hall to your left,” Chasm remarks dryly, and Justin nods, giving me one, last look before he strides off.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mia.” He moves away from us with his assistant in tow as X turns his attention down to my hand on his arm. He looks stricken as he reaches down and carefully untwines my fingers from his thick bicep.

“I can’t believe I just did that,” he murmurs, but more to himself than to either me or Chasm.

“Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Chasm snaps, gritting his teeth as he turns his attention in the direction Justin disappeared to. I’m sure Tess would balk at the idea of her ex freely roaming her house. Not that he, apparently, has any issues getting in here. He left the heart pin, the skeleton key, kidnapped me, kidnapped Parrish. What is he not capable of? “You’re lucky that prick never explicitly asked us not to hit him. I have a feeling he’s a stickler for rules. This honesty thing is a kink of his.” Chas turns back to X with a sharp expression on his face. “But if what you did affects Parrish in any way, I’ll be the one hunting you down.”

“He won’t hurt Parrish for that,” I say, weirdly confident in the whims and choices of a deranged serial killer. “But god only knows what else he’ll do.” I bite my lower lip. There’s no way we’re getting away with this scot-free. Not a chance in hell.

“I’m sorry,” X says, running both hands over his messy hair. “That was stupid as fuck.”

“Yeah, it was,” Chasm snaps back, sliding his hands into the pockets of his slacks.

“You’re not actually going to go with that guy, are you?” Maxx asks me, and I can see that he’s in the same camp as Chasm. “You can’t be alone with him, Kota.”

“He won’t hurt me,” I repeat, and both boys give me dark looks thick with frustration.

We all pause when the front door opens and Tess and Paul come back inside. Right away, I see Tess’ eyes flick to the blood on the floor.

“Justin got a nosebleed and excused himself to the bathroom,” I explain as she looks back at me. There’s the slightest hint of betrayal in her gaze. She hates that I begged to go with him. But she has no idea that I’m protecting her son with everything I have, giving up little parts of me with each of the Slayer’s directives.

“I need that man out of my goddamn house,” she murmurs, exhaling sharply and reaching up to rub at her temples. Paul remains her silent bodyguard, as usual. But I don’t miss the way his brown eyes—so similar to Parrish’s—flick in the direction of the downstairs bathroom. He despises Justin Prior in a way that’s more than just ‘my wife’s ex’. There’s something personal there, that’s for sure. “And Kwang-seon McKenna, do not think I missed that cigarette hanging out of your mouth earlier. I know how your father feels about smoking.”

“Please don’t tell him,” Chasm begs, giving a curt, little bow in response. He stands up and locks his hands together in a prayer position. “I have to spend Memorial Day with that man.”

“Speaking of,” Tess continues, giving Chasm a once-over. “You should get ready and head home before he starts blowing up my phone.”

I have to give her credit for not telling Chasm’s dad that he covers his lip piercings and his hair; she also clearly keeps her mouth shut about his ink. See, Tess has plenty of redeeming qualities. Nice that I’m seeing them now, since Justin is determined to make me look like a heartless douche in front of my bio mom. So much for that spark of a relationship we’ve been kindling …

“On it,” Chasm agrees, exchanging a quick look with Maxx.

That’s right.

I’d almost forgotten their plan to check out both the diner and Mr. Volli’s house.

“I stink,” Maxx mutters with a slight cringe. But I don’t think that at all. Actually, he smells amazing. Goddamn it, Dakota. You’re so fucking cringe sometimes. “I’m going to shower and then I need to grab food for the damn rabbit.”

“You’re not staying with your parents tonight?” Tess asks him and Maxx pauses on his way toward the stairs.

“Nah. They’re staying in one of Seamus’ rentals out in Gold Bar. I’d much rather stick around here in case …” he trails off, but he doesn’t have to finish that sentence. Tess knows exactly what he means. She waves him away, and both Maxx and Chasm head for the stairs, casting glances back at me.

But they can’t protect me from this.

Nope, this is all on me.

“I’d like to have a conversation with you tonight,” Tess tells me, her voice simultaneously hard and soft all at once. Her expression reminds me a bit of a wounded tiger. Like, she’s bleeding, but she can still crush skulls with her teeth. “About your … Justin.”

“Of course,” I reply, taking the brief lull in conversation to snatch my chance at an exit.

Tomorrow, I’ll have lunch with the guy and see what I can’t do about Parrish.

But if I don’t have to see him again before he leaves right now, that’d probably be best for both of us.