Page 69 of By Sin To Atone

“What does that mean?”

“You have to trust me. And if not me, well, then trust my motives are selfish if that makes it easier to swallow. I am alleviating my own guilt by helping you. Think of it as my atonement.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You don’t have to. You only have to accept and agree.”

“What did that mean? That I don’t know everything?”

“Your father made parole. He’ll be out of prison within two weeks.”

24

Blue

“What?” It’s like someone sideswiped me. My mouth falls open, that ringing beginning in my ears. I close my eyes, breathe. I need to keep control of myself. I can’t have one of my spells, not now.

“He made parole.”

“How? That’s not possible. He barely served any time. He?—”

“Shh.” Zeke takes my arms. “He can’t leave the state of Pennsylvania. At least not without permission or he violates his parole. You should be safe here.”

“But I’m not. Wren’s not.” I look up at him. “Are you lying? So I agree? Because I’ll agree anyway. I don’t have many options. Hell, I don’t have any options.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not lying, Blue. Get dressed. My brother and Robbie are on their way over. They have some questions apparently.”

“What questions?”

“Not sure.”

“Zeke? You upstairs?” Comes a man’s deep voice from somewhere in the house, startling me.

“Be down in a sec,” Zeke calls out, gray eyes on me. “Take a few minutes. Get dressed and come downstairs.”

“This is all so bad.” I press the heels of my hands into my eyes. He’s getting out. He warned me he has powerful contacts. They must have helped him get out.

“No one is going to come near you or Wren, Blue. Get dressed. Come downstairs.”

“Can I have my phone back?” I ask him.

“Why?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t call an Uber or something. Just want to call Rudy, make sure Wren’s okay. Make sure he knows no one gets in to see her.” His eyes narrow. He doesn’t trust me. I get it. I wouldn’t trust me either. But can I count on him to get me out of this, to keep us safe? “You want me to start trusting you. You need to start trusting me too. I’m only asking for my phone so I can communicate with my sister.”

“I’ll think about it. Get dressed.”

With a sigh, I nod, and he leaves, closing the door behind himself. I take a minute to process.

My dad is getting out of prison. Zeke’s right that he isn’t allowed to cross state lines but that’s not going to stop him. Not if it means life or death because the man who wants those files will kill him. I know that.

At that, I rush out of the bathroom and back to my bedroom. On the nightstand is the wad of cash. It’s not that I’m concerned about right now, though. The ruined dress is on the bed. I close the door behind me and pick it up to check the pockets and I have never been as relieved as I am in this moment. Because there, stuck on a loose string in the pocket, is the flash drive.

It didn’t fall out. Zeke doesn’t know about it.

This is my back up plan. It has to be. I trust Zeke’s intentions. I believe he will help me and if it’s only to alleviate his own guilt, so be it. I saw how dark his eyes went when he told me that. In helping me, he hopes to atone for a past sin. A failure that cost someone their life. I have a feeling it has to do with Zoë, whoever she is. I remember how he got when I asked about her. Remember what his brother said to him. Maybe I remind him of her. Was she a girlfriend or something?

I shake my head. That doesn’t matter. None of that matters. Him helping me doesn’t mean he cares about me, and the fucking? Well, that’s just a bonus for him.

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