After dinner, I decide to take a walk, brushing off Dan’s offerto join me. I need to be alone. Living in a house full of people is not conducive to my solitary ways.
The walk doesn’t help clear my head like I hoped it would, and an hour later I push open the mudroom door and kick off my shoes.
My mind’s still racing with everything that was said at the press conference.One million dollars. They deserve to be found.The words are stuck on repeat in my brain, mixing with the awful truths that I’ve been trying to bury for so long.
I hear voices coming from the living room—Jasmine’s laugh, along with someone else’s I don’t recognize. I walk through the hallway, past all the family pictures of the Shipleys, and stop at the edge of the room.
“Finally!” Jasmine says, spotting me in the doorway. “Look who finally decided to come back.”
I lift a brow. “I didn’t realize you were waiting for me.”
“Well, we were. Nikki came over to meet you. She wasn’t at school today.”
I step deeper into the room and catch sight of the other girl. She’s sprawled out on the couch, legs crossed, looking like she owns the place. Her dark hair is pulled into a messy bun, and she wears a smirk that makes me uneasy.
“So you’re Ryan,” she says.
“Yep.”
“She’s already met your brother,” Jasmine tells her friend. “Like, within five seconds of getting to Starling.”
“Ev gets around,” Nikki drawls before lowering her gaze to her phone. Her fingernails tap against the screen. They’re bright red and pointy.
“Hey, Ry, grab me a Coke?” The request comes from Connor, who sits in the armchair, his usual relaxed self, with his feet kicked up on the coffee table. He’s fiddling with a video game controller.
“Um, sure.” I guess I’m Ry now.
As I turn toward the kitchen, Jasmine surprises me by hopping off the couch and joining me. “I want snacks,” she announces. She glances over her shoulder. “Nik, you want anything?”
“Nah.”
When we’re alone in the kitchen, my cousin grabs my arm before I can open the fridge. “Don’t say anything about the reward,” she whispers in my ear.
I wrinkle my forehead at her. “Huh?”
“The million-dollar reward. Don’t say anything about it in front of Nikki.”
“Why not?” I can’t hide my amusement. Jasmine doesn’t seem like the kind of girl who keeps secrets from her friends.
“Because I don’t want her to know. This is a family mission.”
I tip my head. “Is it? Did Connor agree to help you?”
“Of course he did. Con does whatever I tell him.”
I grab a Coke for my cousin and a glass of water for myself, while Jasmine pillages the pantry for a bag of chips.
“Jazzy!” Maggie’s muffled shout comes from the direction of the home office she shares with her husband. “C’mere a minute.”
“Ugh.” Jasmine thrusts the chips at me. “Be right back.”
When I return to the living room, I instantly feel Nikki’s eyes on me. I hand Connor the soda can and chips, then stand in the doorway sipping my water.
“Oh my God, sit,” Nikki orders.
After a beat of hesitation, I sink onto the edge of the couch, keeping as much space between us as possible.
“So what’d my brother say to you?” She’s still scrolling through her phone, those long nails making clicking sounds, but she glances up with a sly smile that puts me on edge.
