Chapter10
Knight
The plan felt loose and flimsy and I wasn’t sure how long I could keep up this charade.
I should have driven faster, but something kept me from pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor.
I thought about the Castilles. I thought about Seraphina. I thought about Crew. I couldn’t help but wonder which life would be better for her; the one on the run always checking over her shoulder waiting for the Castilles to catch up to her, or the one where she stayed in a loveless controlling marriage with a family who looked right through her every night at the dinner table. I inhaled, thinking she had no good choices. She had to decide between the worst and darkest options in front of her. It made me sick to think that my light sweet sister had nothing but fear and hard decisions ahead of her.
The screen on my dashboard lit up with a call. It was Seraphina.
“What’s going on? I know I missed the world’s greatest cheesecake.”
“Oh my God. I don’t know what to do.” She was panicked and out of breath.
“Okay. Okay. Slow down and tell me what’s going on.” I waited for an explanation. Everything had been boring and uninteresting twenty minutes ago.
“Crew’s parents,” she began. “They called me at the restaurant.”
“What? Why would they do that? Why did you answer?” I didn’t mean to berate her.
She lowered her voice. “Because Crew was supposed to be at his mom’s birthday dinner tonight and he didn’t show.”
“Fuck.” I hit the steering wheel. “You didn’t mention that detail.” I was angry. I had asked for every piece of information. This was a loose end that could cause problems.
“I didn’t tell you because I forgot all about it until they called me tonight,” she explained. “Knight, they went to his apartment.”
“Shit,” I muttered. “What did you tell them?” I asked.
“I didn’t know what to say,” she answered. “I tried to stall, but they didn’t listen. I said I’d go check on him, but they were going to go no matter what I said.”
“How do you know that?” It felt as if the wheels were coming off with every part of this conversation.
“That’s how they are. They are good parents. Good people.” She paused. “And I’m lying to them about their son.”
“You have to.”
“I know, but they know. They know something isn’t right.”
“Why would they think that?” Seraphina was quiet for too long. “Answer me,” I growled.
“It’s possible they might know something about our families,” she admitted. “And who Crew works for.” I didn’t like the way Kennedy was casually dropped into this.
I hung my head, realizing how things had become more complicated.
“What are they going to do when they go to his apartment and he’s not there?” I asked.
“They are giving it until the morning for him to get in touch with them.”
“And then what?”
“And then they are going to the police.”
“The police.” I said it, but I almost didn’t believe it.
“We’ll find him by then, right?” I couldn’t tell if the hope had drained from her voice or if she was the only one who had any left.
I shook my head.