“Why did they take Dad?”
“Is Dad gonna meet us at the airport?”
“Were those real handcuffs?”
Then Max, sounding angry. “They can’t take him to jail,he’s our dad!”
I open my mouth. Nothing comes out. No air. No words. Just panic clawing up my throat.
Luna takes over.
“He’ll be fine, guys. Your dad’s a good guy. Cops get things wrong sometimes.”
Only… what if the cops didn’t get it wrong?
I meet Luna’s eyes and she must see right through to my fears because she reaches across the seat and squeezes my hand. Tight.
The drive from the port somehow takes forever and no time at all. Then we’re at the airport—fluorescent lights, rolling suitcases, the normalcy of it all so wrong it makes me dizzy.
I follow Luna through the automatic doors but when we get in line for security, I get a second wind. At least, it feels like that.
“I can’t just leave him,” I hear myself say. “I need to find out where he is. He’s gonna need me.”
Luna’s saved from answering when her phone rings.
“It’s Noah.”
I manage to keep still while she listens. Nods once. Twice.
My heart is beating so hard I feel like it’s gonna jump out of my chest.
“He’s sure?” she asks quietly.
I freeze, hanging everything on the next ten seconds. This is where someone says Beckett’s on the way to the airport. That he’ll meet us…
This is the moment I find out none of it is real.
“Okay,” Luna says finally. Her eyes lift to mine. “Right. I’ll tell her.” Then, softer, “Love you too. Don’t take too long to get here.”
I grab her arm. “What did he say?”
“They’re taking Beckett back to Boston,” she says carefully. “That’s what Rocky’s friend says.”
“Who?”
“An old buddy from the Navy. He’s in the FBI, apparently.”
“They’re taking Beckett back to Boston?”
“Most likely.”
“Most—?” I can’t finish. The ground feels unsteady beneath my feet. “When?”
Luna just winces a little. “That’s all he could find out. Nothing specific.”
“So what do I do?”
For a split second, she looks just as lost as I feel.
