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“Roark,” my dad calls out in a hot whisper. “What is this, an investigation? I’m trying to helpyouout here. Let me fucking inside.”
The chain suddenly drops, and the door widens.
“Thank you.” My dad enters first, and I’m a step behind.
The smoky living room is dated from the nineties with torn floral wallpaper. I try not to rapidly scan the place, but I let my eyes flit around.Where is she?Cousins are everywhere. I spot dark-haired and chin-dimpled Ryan and Patrick. Most are standing around and watching the old TV play on low volume. A news channel.
Some are crammed on the lumpy couch. They pass around a glass pipe.
I look away.
“Your phones,” some guy with a green Eagles beanie demands. Don’t know who he is. He seems a lot younger than me, but by the darker hair brushing against his ears and his broad shoulders, I’d guess he’s one of Raff’s grandsons, like Ryan and Patrick.
My dad glowers. “We’re not handing over our phones.”
“Liam,” someone calls out. “They’re fine. It’s Sean.”
“Paulworks for the Hales,” Liam retorts. “He could be recording us.”
“I’m not,” I snap. My pulse tries to accelerate. “I’m barely even employed at this point.”
“Onlyhisphone, Sean,” Roark says, coming forward. He’s scrawnier than the others. Pock marks scar his cheeks, and he’s missing some bottom teeth. “It is what it is. Call it insurance.”
My dad motions to me with his head.
Where is she?I swallow the words I want to scream, and I give Liam my phone. I’m banking on the idea that Oscar and Farrow never lost sight of me on my walk here.
They could have.
I didn’t see Joana’s car.
Liam unlocks the phone by hoisting the screen at my face. He checks my recent texts. I’m not an idiot. I deleted most threads before we arrived.
Then he throws my phone on the scratched floorboards. Screen shatters, and he stomps his boot on the device. Cousins laugh in the background, and others come over to kick it into the wall like a soccer ball. Pieces break off.
I control my breathing and speeding heart rate. I’m only moving my eyes.Where is she?
“That’s good enough,” my dad declares.
Liam locks gazes with me. “Strip.”
My dad glares. “Come on.”
“Most of us haven’t seen your kid in over a decade,Sean,” another man sneers, descending the staircase. Is Luna up there?Can’t see beyond the darkness of the stairs, and I’m rocketed back to a memory. The townhouse in the Rittenhouse-Fitler district.
The fire.
I ran into the burning house. I ran to the staircase and looked up.
I was looking for Luna.
Back then, I was ordered in another direction and I couldn’t go find her. I couldn’t make sure she was okay.
Staring at this darkened staircase now, the urge to race up the steps throttles me.Find her.I gotta find her, but I can’t alarm them. Can’t make it seem like I’m against them.
“Paul,” the man snarls, forcing my attention on him. He’s reached the bottom few stairs and assesses me from head to toe. I can’t place this guy at all, but he’s around my dad’s age. Looks more like Uncle Raff with the chocolate brown hair. His scruff hasn’t grayed yet, and his surly expression is souring on me.
“Hugh,” my dad greets with bite. “I just thought your kids were up to this shit. You really got in this mess too?”
