Mom:
Me, your father, some of our friends
My father. Could it be? Mom thinks he’s dead. My heart can’t stop racing at all the possibilities. William said my dad was. But what if...
If someone knows that word, can I trust them?
I don’t know who else would have it besides someone I trusted with it
Someone your father or I trusted with you
Thanks
I love you
Love you. Be careful
Luke reclaims my hand.
Jack kisses the back of my neck. “It’s up to you, Harper.”
I look at each of my guys. They all watch me expectantly. This is my call. If what this person says is true, if I cut off communication, everything will be lost.
At least on the laptop.
But if this person isn’t being truthful, then we could be handing them ammunition to go after the original horsemen, which I’m not sure what would happen if it got into the wrong hands.
And then there’s this little piece of hope.
My heart aches. I want this to be my father. That somehow, even after all this time, he’s still alive. That somehow I can mend my mother’s broken heart and have a father again. But that alsowould mean he left us to these wolves, knowing exactly what might happen to us.
I rub at my heart, but I give Jack a nod to go ahead.
“What do you need us to do?” Jack straightens.
Confirm your identities.
I look to Jack. This time it’s up to them. I don’t know this person, but they know me. They may not know who I’m with or they could know everything. They know more than we do at the moment.
“Jack Hill.”
“Luke Foster,” Luke says.
“Eli Jacobs.”
“Caden Ross.” Caden doesn’t sound pleased, but he puts his hand on my other shoulder.
“Nico Lee.”
We wait to see what they want next, but they don’t type anything for a long minute. Did that scare them off? Will the laptop just blow up like one of those self-destructing messages in spy movies?
That would be ridiculous and the least likely thing that would happen. But my mind keeps chasing possibilities.
What we have here could blow up your fathers’ lives. You understand that?
The guys exchange looks before Eli says, “We’re aware. While not all of us are on bad terms with our parents. For some of us, it could be the only way out.”
I reach my other hand to Eli and he takes it. I add, “We don’t know if we’ll need to use it against them.”
