I growled again, nostrils flaring.
Jake grimaced. “Anyway, I came because I think there’s something wrong with Mara.”
Hearing her name was like a shock to the system. I blinked at him, some of the fog of rage clearing. “What’s wrong with Mara?”
“I don’t know.” For the first time, some of his nervousness shifted into anger. “She’s been…different. I’m not saying this as an excuse, but…it was her idea for me to scare Quinn in the first place. She thought that Quinn didn’t belong in Ember Hollow, either, and that I might be able to do something about it.”
My brows furrowed. “Mara has been nothing but kind to Quinn,” I snapped.
Jake shrugged, but it was stiff and indifferent. “I think that Mara is good at showing people what they want to see.”
“Why would Mara ask you to do that?” It was Roman who spoke, and Jake glanced at him.
“Mara trusts me.” His forehead wrinkled. “At least, she used to.”
There was something he wasn’t saying. “Spit out the whole story, Jake.”
Time was slipping away.
He ran a hand through his hair again. “Mara and I have been a thing for most of this year,” he started to explain in a rush. “At least, I thought we were. She didn’t really want people to know.”
I frowned at him. “Why not?”
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “We’d meet in secret. It was kinda fun, at first. Then I—I don’t know. I really liked her,and I didn’t want to hide it anymore. She started seeing me less and less, especially when Quinn showed up. When she asked me to scare her off, I thought—I thought that it might make things better between us if I could get her to leave town.” He sighed. “But it only got worse after that. Then, this weekend, I caught her with one of those other lawyers from Cincinnati and everything just seemed so off.”
My mind raced. “Lawyer from Cincinnati?”
Jake nodded. “Yeah, the one with the blond hair? I only knew it was him because I saw all of them eating lunch with Quinn one time.”
Preston? Mara was sleeping with…Preston?
I shook my head. None of this was making sense. “What are you saying? What does all this mean?”
Jake let out a breath. “When I caught her with that other guy in her bed, she started going off on me. Saying I was useless because I barely touched Quinn and I wouldn’t try anything else again. She said that Quinn needed to leave this town because she wasn’t good enough to stay here.”
He swallowed hard, and I felt the blood leave my own face.
I glanced at Roman, desperate. “I left Quinn with her. At the library when you called me, I left Mara alone with her.”
“Do you think Quinn could still be in the library somewhere?” Roman asked.
I pressed my lips together. “Possibly. It’s a large house. If Mara somehow has her there, I’m not sure Edith would even notice.” I was halfway turned, ready to run straight back to that library and tear it apart, when Jake stopped me.
“Wait,” he said. “I was just there and Mara wasn’t. I have a key and I looked all around that place. I couldn’t find Mara or Quinn.”
I froze, reeling again.
Roman looked at Jake sharply. “Do you know where Mara could’ve taken her?”
Jake’s posture changed. He stood slightly straighter. “Maybe.” He nodded. “Edith has some farmland outside of town. They rent it out to the farmer next door but there’s an old pole barn on the property. She used to take me there sometimes…”
My pulse quickened. I finished my turn, needing to go. To find her. “Text me the address,” I called to Jake. Roman was right behind me. I shot him a look. “Stay here. Look after Mom and Dad, and Hailey.”
His jaw worked, but he didn’t argue.
“I’ll go with you,” Jake said.
I glared at him. “No.”
