I stared at the only person who still felt like family. “I don’t know if I can keep doing this.”
Panic lit her features. “Doing what?”
“Working for him.”
My mom’s fingers dug into my arms. “I know he’s more hardened. Losing Clara hurt him more than he lets on, but—”
“He’s always been hard,” I argued. “But it’s more than that now. It’s like he’s determined to tear us all down to his level.”
Her hands began to flutter in a staccato beat. “I’ll talk to him. I can fix it. Just don’t do anything rash.”
“Mom…”
“It would kill me not to have you around. Not to have you as a part of our family business. Please, just let me try.”
I wrapped her in a hug. “Okay.”
But I knew that agreement would be selling a piece of my soul to the devil.
34
GRAE
I stareddown at my phone as the scenery whizzed by my car window. Nothing from Caden. My thumbnail dug into the pad of my forefinger.
Something was wrong. It had been for days. At first, I’d thought it was the fire at Vacation Adventures, but now I wasn’t so sure. It was as if he was building that invisible wall between us again. Just the thought had nausea roiling through me.
“Whatcha thinking about so hard back there?” Eddie asked from Noel’s front passenger seat.
“Nothing.” I slid my phone back into my backpack. Caden was wrapping up Clive’s retreat; maybe business had him distant.
Noel grunted as if to call bullshit.
Eddie took pity on me and changed the subject. “Want to see if we can lose the po-po just for fun?”
I glanced out the back window to see my now-typical tail. Two officers at all times. Outside Caden’s house. Following me to work. Staying outside our makeshift offices at Jordan’s place. Following me home.
“Somehow, I don’t think starting a police chase is the relaxing end to a long day I’m looking for.”
Eddie sent me a grin through the rearview mirror. “Live a little, G. I think you need some fun in your life.”
“You say fun. The cops say jail time.”
Noel snorted.
A little of the humor slipped from Eddie’s face. “Honestly, you doing okay?”
My heart squeezed at the concern in his voice. Sometimes, I forgot that he and Noel could take life seriously. As much as they both lived for the next thrill, we’d been through a lot together. When Noel’s brother was arrested for dealing and flipped his world upside down. When Eddie’s fiancée, Megan, had been killed in a car accident. A Type 1 scare I’d had on the job. None of our lives had been perfect, but we were always there for one another.
I leaned against the seat. “It’s been a long few weeks.”
“Understatement,” Noel said as he turned onto the road that led to The Peaks.
“Lawson say if they’ve found anything yet?” Eddie asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing other than proof that the second fire was arson, too.”
Noel scrubbed a hand over his face. “Whoever this is knows what they’re doing.”
