Chapter 27

•Scott POV•

My car keys jiggled in my hand as I walked across the concrete floor leading to Charles’s front door. The sound grated against my ears, but no matter how I tried to hold them still, they kept clinking together. An unsettling feeling crawled in my gut, the same feeling that had refused to leave me since the incident at Cassie’s birthday party.

My nose still ached when I touched it lightly, a reminder of Jerald’s punch. But that pain was nothing compared to the tight, heavy feeling sitting in my chest. It hurt more than I imagined it would be.

I knocked lightly on the door, then shoved the keys into my pocket when the sound became too much. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, my thoughts running wild. Images of Cassie’s face kept replaying in my head, her shock, her pain, the way she had clutched her daughter.

I knocked again.

When no one answered, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The house was quiet, too quiet. But faint music drifted from the back, sl