Besides, he wouldn’t be knocking.
My heart leaps and my veins fill with hope that it’s Alex, here because I texted him about the pie I baked. I take the stairstwo at a time, then my feet skid across the wooden floor in the hallway until I halt inches from the door, flinging it open.
A big, bright smile twists my mouth when I see Alex, his car parked by the curb. He came...
My brows bunch in the middle, euphoria fading fast as he starts speaking.
“Hey,”he slurs, the stench of booze heavy on his breath.“I need a nap. I had one too many.”
Hope hisses out of me faster than it arrived, leaving a hollow feeling behind. Of course he’s not here to spend time with me. It’s been days since I last saw him. Weeks since he came over for me, rather than Dad. I wish I had the courage to shove him out of here. I wish I could tell him to leave but the words won’t leave my lips.
The sad reality is that he came because he needs a favor but heishere and his presence always makes the hole Mom’s death left in my heart heal a little.
He sways forward making me step out of his way.
“You’re drunk. Where have you been?”I ask.
The dark circles under his bloodshot eyes look more prominent, like he hasn’t slept in days. His clothes are crumpled, hair disheveled. Jealousy enters my bloodstream, but Alex doesn’t tell me whether he’s been withhertonight. He shoulders past me and stumbles inside.
I’ve seen this memory before. It’s like the one I had at Blaze’s. Though it’s sharper now, no blurriness around the edges, no darkness outside the windows.
While Alex explains the case he’s working on, I listen, react, and pay attention to my surroundings.
The living room is huge, twice as large as the one we had in Florida. Houses in Ohio must be much cheaper...
Or maybe Dad spent everything on the building, not leaving much for the interior; the space is bare, save for necessities. Acouch, two chairs, wall-mounted TV, and a rickety coffee table. It’s a far cry from how Mom would’ve decorated it.
She paid attention to the smallest details, littered every flat surface with dust-gathering trinkets, kept lots of plants, and loved piling cushions wherever possible.
There’s only one cushion here. Not a blanket in sight. Not one plant or candle... but there are pictures, hundreds of them. A gallery of Mom’s smiles covers every wall.
Alex grunts, adjusting the lonely cushion under his head.
“You’re scaring me, Alex,”I whisper, the danger he’s in dawning on me and tightening my voice.“You need to quit.”
“Quit? I can’t quit. That’s not a fucking option.”
“Of course you can. You’re not safe! You can’t risk your life for work. My dad will understand.”
A low chuckle vibrates his chest.“You don’t know your dad all that well, Hailey. If I quit, I’ll spend the rest of my life in jail. You think I’ll risk everything to put Rhett Willard behind bars?”
“Rhett Willard?”
“I’m doing this because I don’t have a fucking choice,”he rants over my question. “I can’t quit. Even if there wasn’t a life sentence hanging over my head, quitting means risking Aalyiah’s life. But if I don’t quit it’s just a matter of time before Rhett puts a bullet in my head.”He sits up, running a hand down his face.“Like I said... unless I figure out a way to end this, I’m dead for real, or dead inside.”
He reaches for my hand, grazing his thumb down my palm.“Don’t worry, Hailey. You’ll be fine. Sad and broken, but alive.”The acceptance layering his voice makes my eyes sting with tears.
“I want to help. What can I do to help?”I ask.
“You can’t. No one can. All I can do is figure this out before Rhett discovers who I am and realizes I’ve used his daughter to get the evidence your father needs.”
“What have you gotten yourself into?”My voice is barely above a whisper, fear seeping into every word.
“I was sent to infiltrate Rhett’s organization. To gather evidence... but I met Aalyiah.”
I sink down onto the armchair opposite him, my mind racing.“And you fell in love with her.”
“The heart doesn’t always make wise choices, Hailey. You should know. We both chose wrong.”He avoids my gaze, his hands trembling, a hollow laugh escaping his lips.“I told her who I am, what I’m doing. Instead of ratting me out, she asked to help. But she had one condition: that her brother stays safe. That he doesn’t go down with Rhett.”
