Page 73 of Hidden Truths

“I just thought of something, and I wanted to run it by you before I talked to your dad.”

“Lay it on me, Vocal Daddy,” she says with a mischievous smile.

“Firecracker,” I growl.

“I’m just kidding. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“Did your dad look into how Senator Wolfe funded his campaign?”

Harlow raises an eyebrow, and I can see her eyes sparkle with interest. “Yeah. He used old family money.”

Mav shoots up from his seat on the couch and comes to stand next to me, pushing in so he can see Harlow too. I glare at him until I see the look on his face. He looks angry.

“We don’t have old family money. My grandparents on my dad’s side were dirt poor and lived off the system. The ones on my mom’s side were middle class and died with debt,” he tells Harlow.

“It was part of his entire campaign. He’s from an old family with old money, and he’s putting that money back into the state of Maine,” Harlow says, watching Maverick’s reaction carefully.

“I didn’t pay attention to his campaign. I wanted nothing to do with him and made sure I didn’t have to hear about it.”

Harlow nods at his words. “What are you thinking, Cal?” she asks me.

“The senator has emailed Mav a lot.”

“How often?” she asks him.

“Once a week since Kai talked me into joining Shattered Halo.”

“Yeah, and he mentions things like the family business and forming alliances and things that sound a lot like old mafia movies.” Anyone else would tell me I need to lay off the movie watching, but Harlow takes me seriously. She mumbles something to Willa and then runs upstairs to our room, grabbing her computer and propping her phone up on the bedside table so I can see the side of her face as she frantically types.

“I think you might be onto something,” she says, not taking her eyes from the computer screen. “Maine has a drug problem. It isn’t a secret. It’s been all over the news for years. Especiallysince it’s causing a huge uptick in deaths because of overdose in the 18-24 and an even bigger one in the 25-36 age range.”

“He’s a drug dealer?” That’s not exactly where my brain was going, but it could fit.

“The first reports of an increase in overdoses and the start of his bid for senator started within months of each other,” Harlow says, turning towards me. “I’m going to call my dad and see what he can find.”

I nod, Mav still next to me, looking pale. Kai is in Mav’s spot on the couch with his head in his hands.

“Thanks, baby.”

“Callahan,” she says, making sure she has my full attention. “Do you understand what you may have done? You may have found not only the motive, but the person who’s been smuggling in all the drugs.”

“Yeah, but none of that matters if it doesn’t lead to Ez,” I say, not feeling the same excitement she is.

“Not yet, but if this all checks out, we could be a lot closer than we have been in months.”

I nod. “Let me know what your dad says, and I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“I love you, Cal,” she says, beaming at me, and I wish I could reach through the phone and kiss her.

“I love you too, Firecracker.”

I put my phone in my pocket and watch Maverick unravel. He drops to the floor at my feet, and I quickly sit next to him, pulling him into my arms as he cries. Kai is on his other side in an instant. We let him cry, holding our best friend between us like our combined strength can keep him from completely falling apart.

It may have been minutes or hours later, but Mav eventually runs out of tears.

“My dad is responsible for hundreds of deaths,” he croaks. “My dad hurt the love of my life.”

We’ve all been saying Ezra is hurt instead of dead. We don’t have proof that he is, and we all silently agreed not to use the d-word until we have absolute proof. No one is giving up on him.

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