LOGINCATHERINEThe drive back to Ronald was silent.The kind of silence that pressed against your chest until you couldn’t breathe. My mind was still reeling from this new information.My father.He’d always been an afterthought in my life, less than an afterthought. I had no idea what he looked like, what kind of man he was… now that I did, I wanted to go back to being oblivious.Grandma said he was worse than Ronald’s father?Ronald didn’t talk much about his family but I knew his father was ruthless. Just thinking about it made my stomach tighten with an emotion I refused to name.“If you keep digging into that seatbelt,” Mason said, “you might actually snap it in Mason’s tight voice pulled me back to reality.Confined car, the scent of leather hanging low, the road in front of us and the low hum of the engine. I looked down at my hands. They were white, fingers curling around the seatbelt like I actually wanted to break it. I forced out a breath, peeling my fingers off.“What do you
CATHERINE“Take Catherine to her grandmother.”I straightened, my gaze flicking to T’s body then Ronald. “What?” I said. “Where are you going?”Ronald’s gaze stayed fixed on the road. “I’ll get the answers out of him. You focus on getting yours.”I opened my mouth to argue but nothing came out. Because he wasn’t wrong. That didn’t mean I didn’t see it for what it was. Another excuse to put distance between us.Still, time was something we didn’t have. It was smarter this way.So instead of arguing, I sank deeper into my seat.I didn’t keep track of how long it took to get to the cafe but this was officially the longest ride of my life. The cafe sat in the middle of the compound, the setting sun glowing over the big bright letters. I could spot my grandmother, even from the parking lot. She sat close to the large window, nursing a cup of something hot.The car door slammed open behind me, then shut.“Shall we?” Mason said. I hesitated.The last time I’d seen her, she looked at me l
CATHERINE If the car ride wasn’t awkward earlier, it was now.The three- well, four of us, sat in silence, Mason’s heavy breathing and the light patter of rain against the windshield was the only thing cutting through the silence. The space was too cramped and I was starting to get anxious.Like he could feel it rolling off me, Ronald’s gaze flickered to the rearview mirror. I tore my gaze away, shuffling in my seat.He didn’t say a word, instead, he rolled into a gas station. The minute the engine went off, Mason practically jumped out the car, mumbling something I didn’t catch before disappearing into the store.It was just me and Ronald now.Great.He kicked the door open without sparing me a second glance. The door slammed shut behind him, rattling the frame of the car. My pulse jumped, then stabilized.Irritation crawled up my spine instantly.I knew he was hurt.But that didn’t mean he should treat me like I was an eyesore. What I did, I did for my sister and I would never apo
CATHERINEThe air inside the car was suffocating.T’s body slumped sideways, his shoulder perching on mine. It took everything in me not to turn, still, I kept my gaze locked outside the window, watching as rain now trickled down the glass.The fact that both men were unbothered at the dead body right next to me was slightly alarming. More so when one of them was wanted by the entire police department.No one seemed bothered.No one said a word.Ronald was worse, doing everything in his power to ignore me.My chest tightened.Fine.He was hurt. I understood that much, he didn’t trust me after this whole mess with T. But he didn’t get to follow me around and use me as bait without saying a word. Because that’s exactly what he’d done.He could pretend otherwise.I wasn’t stupid.He didn’t admit to it but it was clear as day. That was the only explanation for him showing up here.My arms wrapped around myself as I sank deeper into the seat, leather creaking beneath my weight.“Okay,” Mas
RONALDI didn’t know how much time had passed since I left Catherine at my safe house. The slam of the metal door still echoed in my mind whenever I slept. But one thing I counted on was her stubbornness.Catherine wasn’t a docile little thing. I knew she wouldn’t stay there, especially if I was the one who told her.I forced myself into the investigation.If I moved fast enough I wouldn’t think of her betrayal. That was not the case. Because no matter how much I tried to drown my mind with layers and layers of files, her face still surfaced, her laughter echoed in my head.My mind still struggled to accept the fact that I opened my heart to the very person that would rip it out.My grip on the steering wheel tightened until the leather creaked beneath my fingers, until the skin around my knuckles turned white. My gaze was still locked on the clutter of buildings Mason had gone into. The one we’d followed Catherine too.Like I said, she was stubborn.She’d left the safe house just t
CATHERINEMy lungs burned, eyes watered but I pushed my legs to run. My body was running on a deadly mixture of alcohol and heat and fear. Bile rose up my throat, threatening to spill but I pushed it down.My boots pounded against the cracked pavement as I sprinted toward the stack of crates, my pulse roaring so loudly it drowned out everything else.Except him.His footsteps.The ghost of his laughter followed me, faster than his footsteps did.“Run faster, Catherine.”My head snapped back at T’s voice. My foot tripped. I yelped, stumbling before gaining my balance. I scanned where I was again. Concrete flagged my sides, the crates were still a good eight feet away.I moved.Feet slapping against the ground, echoing in the air and the moment I reached the trap. Up close, they looked worse… rotting wood, unevenly stacked, barely holding together.Perfect.I skidded to a stop just past them, spinning around like I’d hit a dead end.Like I had nowhere left to go.T’s footsteps slowed, t
CATHERINEI was dragged out of consciousness by a steady rattling, low chatter and a sense of ambiguity. My eyes fluttered open as I sat straight. pain flaring down my neck from the awkward position beside Ellie’s bed. I barely registered it. I pushed the ache away, blinking to clear the haze of sl
RONALDMason whistled under his breath, gnawing on a stick of red licorice as he scanned the scene like it was a renovation gone wrong instead of a crime scene. There was an amusement in his eyes that he didn’t bother hiding. It ticked something inside my chest.The air held a cold edge, copper hun
CATHERINEI leaned against the doorway, nestling a cup of coffee in my hand as I watched Ellie sleep, her face nestled between the sheets, her hands curling in the pillow. Her brows were still creased, her lips twitching like she was still thinking about everything that had happened. But we were sa
CATHERINE The warmth of the coffee cup seeped into my palms, settling in my chest. The air outside was crisp, fog blurring everything in the neighborhood. Silence was what kept me from losing my mind this time.Three days in Ohio and the tight ache in my chest hadn’t loosened. My pulse still skips







