“God, why did I ever waste time thinking you were the cool brother?” Amber said.
“Iamthe cool brother,” Cal replied. “If you’re thinking otherwise, it’s because that bloodsucker is messing with your head. When we get home?—”
“I’m not going home,” Thomas said quietly. The words were so soft that Roger almost didn’t hear them in the commotion, but the look in his eyes as he met Roger’s gaze was one of conviction. “Not until my son is safe.”
Roger nodded.
“Same,” Amber said. “Though I mean brother, not son. Obviously.”
“Amber, you need to go—” Thomas started to say.
“Do you honestly believe she would be safer with them?” Roger asked softly.
The question startled Thomas. He first stared at Roger like he was an alien for the suggestion, but a moment passed, and a glimpse of understanding hardened his expression into one of deep regret. The Wrights and the Gladwells were toxic, and Thomas must have finally seen that in how they treated Zack.Hell, his other son is proving the point for me.
“You switched me to homeschooling. I can do my homework literally anywhere,” Amber said. Then she winced and rubbed at her throat.
Thomas wiped his hand down his face. The bags under his eyes were darker than they had been a minute ago. “All right.”
“You can’t go with him!” Cal thrust his hand out toward Roger.
Thomas slapped a set of keys into Cal’s hand. “Tell your mother that the passwords are taped to the underside of the drawer in Zack’s room. She probably won’t think to look for them there.”
“Dad, I heard what Mom said tonight. If you don’t come home?—”
“Your mother has to realize she doesn’t decide what’s right and wrong for everyone else,” Thomas said.
“She is going to flip if Amber doesn’t come back with me.”
Amber stepped closer to her father, and Thomas put an arm around her shoulders. “I guess we’ll have to see how that plays out. Go home, Cal.”
“But in a moment.” Roger rushed forward, grabbed the keys from Cal’s hand, and tossed them so they slid under the truck. Then he hurried to grab Dmitri again and rejoin Amber and Thomas. “We should get moving.”
“Goddamn son of a bitch.” Cal ran over to the truck, but he had to crawl under it for the keys.
“Why’d you do that?” Amber asked.
“Didn’t need him to attempt to run us over.” Roger nodded in the direction of Nathaniel’s car. “I’ll lead the way.”
With Amber and Thomas following and Dmitri over his shoulder, Roger crossed the parking lot and threaded his way through the trees of the park toward the car on the far side.Takashi. Zack. I’m so sorry. I will not give up on you.
CHAPTER 11
Darkness.
Utter, complete, world-encompassing lack-of-light darkness.
When Zack first opened his eyes, he wasn’t sure he had. The seamless black didn’t change no matter how many times he rapidly batted his eyelids. He couldn’t see. With a shout, he reached for his face to feel for the damage.
But his face was smooth, not a blemish or a bruise. He wasn’t in pain either.
That doesn’t make sense. Does it? Why would I be in pain? What happened?
His memories came in a confusing blur. Certain things he knew as true: his name was Zackery Benedict Wright. He’d been born October 31, 2001. He had an older brother and a younger sister. But he’d been living with Roger since his parents disowned him a few months ago.
There. A recent memory snapped into place. He’d fought Cal because Cal was trying to kill Roger. And he’d pushed Roger out of the way and taken a stake to his shoulder. A day later, he’d moved into Nell’s mansion with Roger for extra security, and he’d discovered that his family had locked him out of hissocial media accounts and changed the passwords on the family accounts that he’d monitored.
Was that what he was supposed to be recovering from?
