My blood runs cold. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“Just come. Please. Hurry.”
I’m already standing. “I have to go, Dad. My friend is in trouble.”
My father looks at me, and for the first time in years, something softens in his expression. “Go. Help your friend.”
I’m halfway to the door when his voice stops me.
“Thatcher.”
I turn back.
“I’m sorry.” The words seem to cost him something. “Can we meet again soon? To finish this conversation?”
“Yes,” I say, surprised by how much I mean it. “We can.”
I’m sure I run more than a couple of red lights on the way home, my heart pounding with worst-case scenarios. Fire, flood, break-in, injury… Alli’s voice had been so scared. But when I reach our building, there’s no smoke, no emergency vehicles, no signs of disaster.
I take the stairs two at a time and try Alli’s door first. There’s a note taped to it in her handwriting:Your apartment. NOW.
Confusion replaces panic as I fumble with my keys. What the hell is going on?
I push open my door to find Alli standing in my living room, holding a small dog I don’t recognize. She looks completely calm, not a hair out of place.
“What’s going on? You said there was an emergency?—”
She just shrugs, a smile playing at her lips. “Wait for it.”
Before I can demand an explanation, my door burstsopen. Lex stumbles in first, followed by Adam, then Noah, and finally?—
Pierce. With a cloth bag over his head.
“Special delivery!” Lex announces proudly.
“We got him!” Adam adds, slightly out of breath.
“For the record, I was against the bag. Bag hair is the worst,” Noah says. “But these two insisted on ‘authenticity.’”
“You kidnapped him?” I stare at my cousins in disbelief. “I told you no cousin interference!”
“Technically, this is cousin assistance,” Lex corrects. “Very different.”
“He put up a good fight,” Adam says admiringly. “Almost got away twice.”
“The second time was impressive,” Noah admits. “He’s surprisingly fast for someone in socks.”
I look at Pierce’s feet, happy to see that they at least helped him put some shoes on.
Pierce makes a muffled sound of indignation beneath the bag.
“Oh, right.” Lex reaches over and pulls the bag off Pierce’s head.
Pierce blinks in the sudden light, his hair disheveled. His eyes find mine, and for a moment, neither of us speaks.
“Well,” Alli says brightly, scratching the dog’s ears, “I think that’s our cue to leave. Come on, boys.”
“But I want to see what happens,” Lex protests.
