Or maybe it had been something real.
The thought that it might be the last time I ever got to kiss her hurt more than I was willing to admit.
After all the anger I’d carried, and the walls I’d built to forget her, I still wanted to protect her. I wanted to hold her until she forgot every reason she’d ever had to leave.
It all terrified me.
“I wish it wasn’t the case.” August answered Skye’s question. “We can only assume your father planted the cameras.”
Skye nodded, looking horrified, but managed to sound composed. “How do we find him?”
August scrubbed the back of his neck. “That’s the question now, isn’t it?” He made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. “Reid can’t seem to find a whiff of him anywhere.”
My jaw clenched. Reid couldn’t find him, and I couldn’t get a grip on his digital trail. “We will figure something out, Skye,” I assured her, and myself.
There had to be something we were missing. Something that would lead us right to him.
A knock on the door made us all tense.
“It’s me.” Ash’s voice drifted through, followed by another sharp knock. “Can you let me in?”
Skye rushed toward the door. “You didn’t have to come,” she said, her voice guarded as her brother stepped inside.
“I wanted to.” Ash’s eyes flicked to the table, the laptop and cameras. “What’s going on?”
Reluctantly, Skye explained the situation. His expression matched what I must’ve looked like when I’d seen the first camera. Livid.
He pushed both hands through his straight, dark hair. “What the hell?” he muttered. “What kind of sick fuck puts cameras in his own daughter’s room?”
My stomach turned.
“Maybe the kind that fakes his own disappearance,” August spat.
Ash spun to look at me. “What are you going to do about this?” he demanded.
Heat scorched my veins. “We’ve already contacted the police. A detective should be here soon.”
“Calling the cops? That’s it?” Ash paced, agitation rolling off him in waves. “I wish I would’ve gotten rid of him years ago—for good. I should’ve done something when I had the chance.”
“Ash.” Skye’s voice cracked, sharp with disbelief. “Don’t say things like that.”
Ash glared at her. “He needs to be dealt with, Skye. He’s done little good in his life. I don’t know why he should get to keep it.”
Neither August nor I rushed to correct him. Not when we understood the rage clawing at him.
August let out a slow breath. “I understand the righteous anger, but we’re obligated to follow the law.”
I nodded stiffly. Charles Adler didn’t deserve to be walking this earth, threatening the people he was supposed to love and protect. But he wasn’t worth the effort of ruining my own life in the process of getting rid of him, if it came to that.
Ash turned to me. “I’m surprised.”
I raised an eyebrow, wary of whatever was coming next.
“The Fox I knew wouldn’t back down from a fight like this.”
The words hit harder than they should have—like a sucker punch right to the ribs.
A strange, charged energy settled over the room.
