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Some of my books have smoke damage, but the only thing that saved the bookcase from going up in smoke when Shane tried to set my house on fire was the fact the bookcase was on the far side of the room, away from the window.

As he walks out, I return to my seat at the dining table. “We can leave as soon as we’ve figured out a route. Not all of us, though. Some of us will have to stay and watch over Chris, Adela, Zoe, and probably Aerin’s grandparents. I can’t see them coming with us.”

Ivy nods. “How was Aerin? I know she was worried about her powers.”

That’s one of the biggest reasons I worry about her. “They hadn’t come back. She couldn’t fight Shane even if she wanted to. Right now, she’s powerless.”

My dad returns with a map and we lay it down on the table, pushing our cups aside to examine it. I haven’t let myself think about if Shane took Aerin somewhere else, and that we might be wasting time going to a place she isn’t. Right now, we don’t have any other options.

An hour later, we’ve worked out the fastest routes that will take us to Karson, Michigan, as we picked at our breakfast.

We’re discussing who will stay in Winter Lake with Chris, who isn’t well enough to travel, before we can pack a bag and jump in the cars when the sound of a speeding vehicle distracts me.

I look at Bennett. “Why do I think they’re headed this way?”

He gets up without a word and walks out of the kitchen to the front door.

“Wait there,” I tell my dad when he follows me out. “We’ll see who it is.”

“Like hell I am,” he scoffs and follows me out.

Everyone pours out.

I don’t recognize the car. The license plate isn’t local, and when I spot the sticker on the bumper, I realize why that is.

“A hire car,” I mutter.

Through the windshield, I spot the driver and curse quietly under my breath.

My dad isn’t so quiet. “What the fuck is he doing here?”

“Probably here for the same reason you are,” I say as the driver cuts the engine and flings open the car door.

“He’s here for Aerin.”

7

AERIN

“I’m not hungry.” I push aside the plate of chicken, rice, and veggies that Shane sets on the bedside table.

He frowns. “You need to eat. The baby does too.”

It’s getting exhausting glaring at him. I’m also getting fed up with reminding him that this baby has nothing to do with him. Nevertheless, I glare some more. “Stop pretending to care.”

He still hasn’t told me who killed Bree, and the longer he doesn’t, the more sure I am that he did.

“Aerin…”

I try to get up off the edge of the bed, the operative word being ‘try’. Getting up requires more effort than it used to. In Winter Lake, Mack was always helping me up the second I moved to stand. I never had to ask. He was just there.

When Shane moves to do the same, I sit back. “Don’t touch me.”

He peers down at me for several seconds, then he drops into a crouch in front of me. “I’m not the enemy here, Aerin.”

“You kidnapped me right after you hurt one of my packmates. You are absolutely the enemy.”

And I still don’t even know if Chris and Zoe are okay. The last time I saw them, Zoe was on her side, unconscious, and Chris was on his back, blood pumping from his throat.

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