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“She’s always hiding her whereabouts. No one knows much about her family. Her file is too clean,” he argues.
I feel a lump form in my throat. Just earlier today she released some information I’d never heard before. She’s from Seattle. We’re best friends. I should know more about her.
“Do you know that she was born and raised in Alabama?” he adds.
The last question is a punch in the gut. I could assume he’s fishing for information, but after hearing, she’s not from DC as I assumed, I’m starting to wonder if Lake is hiding anything more from me.
What if she is?
There has to be a perfect explanation as to why I don’t know some important facts about her. I know the basics. She’s a twin. Her father is a tattoo artist, and her mother is a doctor. She has two younger brothers. They’re close, but she avoids seeing her family because work is more important. I sigh and wonder if Ryder is trying to throw me with useless facts to see if I’ll slip and tell him whatever I know.
“I’ll be gone for a while,” I say.
“I’m sure we can prove that you didn’t kill your father. Come back,” he says.
It’s not dear old dad who concerns me, but the mess he left behind.
“Give me a few days, okay?”
“Fine, I’ll call you at this number soon,” he says before hanging up.
I hope this conversation was long enough so Finnegan and his people can work their hacking magic—whatever that entails. They’re hoping Ryder will continue to be in charge of the case or at least be part of the investigation.
Is this a good idea?
Staying in this small town, working with their company while we figure out how to take down the DiGiacomo Family. But also searching for the person who killed my father and continuing to protect my family. I might not care about them in the conventional way, but they’re Thorndales and it’s my duty to keep them safe.
Do I have any other choice?
ChapterSix
Callahan
I step into the house,and Lake is already pacing the living room, her brow furrowed. When she notices me, her face shifts to apprehension, and she asks with an edge to her voice, “Everything okay?”
I nod in response.
She plants her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowing as she says, “So you have a phone.”
“Only temporary,” I counter vaguely. “I’m not sure what they want to do with the information I can gather from a few calls I made to some key players.”
Lake nods, studying me, and I know she’s trying to figure out what happened during the call. She’s curious and more so when it’s something that affects her. I don’t want to bring up my discussion with Finnegan, so I decide to move on to the next tricky subject—us. “So, we’re going to be stuck in this town for the unforeseeable future. And I was thinking… that maybe you and I could try dating.”
Her lips press together in thought before she points out with unwavering focus she repeats, “We’re in the middle of a crisis.”
“If you went through orientation,” I remind her, looking up to catch her gaze, “then they told you that you have to try living as normal a life as possible during our time here.”
“They’re looking into taking me out of the program,” she suddenly drops a bombshell.
My heart sinks. Stunned, my jaw slackens, and I ask incredulously. “No, why? You almost got killed.”
With a defensive posture, Lake responds defiantly, “But I didn’t.”
A swell of emotion rises within me at the memory of how close she had come to losing her life. “Lake, don’t you see it? I need you close so I can protect you. We…” I trail off, my voice and gaze faltering.
But I don’t continue because what if Lake isn’t who I think she is? Is she a mole?
Fuck.
