Back in the car, Beckett hits the steering wheel. "We were too late."
"If you'd shared the text when you saw it—"
"And if you hadn't lost your head with Cody in the first place—"
I laugh. Low, quiet. He looks at me, and I keep laughing, because that's all there is to do with it right now.
"Forget the laptop," I say. "Your plan didn't work. We move to mine."
Beckett exhales through his nose, long and controlled. He hates my ideas. He also can't deny that they work.
They always work.
Eventually.
Chapter 8: Adela
Maevewon'tletitgo the following morning.
"You want answers, right?" Her voice has that edge of desperation that mirrors my own.
"Don't you have an exam?" I ask.
She waves it off. "This is more important."
"Maeve." I put her on speaker phone. "I'm asking my dad if I can live in the dorms. When I do, I'll have time to watch the house myself. I will figure out who lives there. Maybe even talk to them."
Silence.
She scoffs, “So you’re doing it alone?”
The pit in my stomach widens. “You don’t have to make the drive. I bet we’re not going to find anything during one stakeout.”
"Fine." The word is sharp as a slap. “I’m going to get off the phone so that I can study for my exam.”
Guilt and relief arrive at the same time as she ends the call.
I stand outside my father's office for a full minute before I knock.
"Come in."
I sit in the leather chair across from his desk. He doesn't look up from his screen. "What is it?"
"I want to live in the dorms at UW."
That gets him. His eyes snap to mine. "Even with Cody's condition?"
"Especially because of it. We live far from campus, Dad. The commute is a risk in itself. The dorms are secure. I already had a tour."
He leans back, fingers steepled. "When I agreed to this transfer, I assumed Cody would be there with you."
"We can't reverse it. It's done."
"I could make a call to admissions—"
"Please don't." The pleading in my voice is real. "The doctors say he'll wake soon. I need to be closer. I want to live there."
He studies me. "You've never wanted anything that required earning."
