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“We need to keep our eyes open. Figure out who is hunting down the families. What is their connection?”

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. How much should I tell him?

“I think it’s tied to the past. When the poison first hit the streets all those years ago,” I settle on.

The Captain flinches. “That is what I was afraid of. That means you aren’t safe. There were five men who made the decision to introduce the poison. One who created it.”

“Five?” I ask.

The Captain grimaces. “I was lead on the case back then. Your dad might be next or…”

“Or me,” I accept.

I had thought about it long and hard.

Would Reuben come for me? After everything we went through together?

I knew for a fact he would.

After all, I am the reason this poison exists in the first place. But at least now I will see it coming.

His fingers curl into my shoulder, and I suppress a wince. “I see you understand the importance of tracking down who is committing these murders. Watch your back, Kale.”

And then he gets up from his desk, waving me away.

“Get to work, it’s going to be a long night,” the Captain tells me. “Leave at noon.”

Raising from the chair, I incline my head.

Only after I leave his office do I realize the oddest part of that encounter.

Before today, Captain Amaretto had not called me Kale in years.

***

Hours later, and after the nonstop scrutiny of Cocoa, I am finally able to leave the station.

The internal war continues to rage within.

I shouldn’t even be here. I need to quit. I have chosen the path to walk, and I don’t belong here.

I hadn’t checked Cinnamon’s email while there, too afraid to get caught.

But I need to. I need to find out her next target.

Getting up from my desk, Sergeant Cacao stands with me.

“I’m going home,” I explain around a yawn. “Captain said to leave at noon.”

He narrows his eyes but doesn’t speak.

Only once I am safely in my car, do I open my laptop.

But as I read Reuben’s last email, my blood freezes.

I do not understand his next target.

Scotch Amaretto.