Page 115 of Coerced

“Argaud is not a common last name.” John looked at Travis.

A thundercloud built on Kerry’s face, and I kept an eye on him while I listened.

“I dipped into some human records and found there is no father listed on either of her babies’ birth certificates. Only Emily Argaud is listed as the mom.” Travis shrugged. “Could be a coincidence that Emily Hubler’s maiden name is Argaud and her son’s name is Reilly, but the fact that both his first and last name are spelled the same makes me think it’s not.”

Kerry’s skin glittered blue now.

“What is it that you know that I don’t?” I cut my eyes from Kerry to Travis.

“Yeah! Share with the rest of us,” Mira demanded.

“Reilly Argaud is a former classmate,” John supplied. “A real douche.”

Suddenly, Kerry started to shake so hard, the silverware on the table vibrated.

“Dude, what’s wrong?” Mira reached out a hand toward him, but I grabbed it before she could touch him. He was aglow with power, which would have hurt her if she touched him.

“Reilly targeted Gemma for several months last fall,” Gigi murmured. “Then, just before Thanksgiving, he trapped her in the dojo and—

“Hehurther!” Fireflies of power spewed out of Kerry’s mouth with each word.

“And you didn’t kill him?” Mira arched one eyebrow.

“She wouldn’t let me!” he sneered.

I choked back a laugh.

“You almost did,” Travis said in a grave tone. “Gave him a beatdown he’ll never forget.”

“Wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough for what he did.” Kerry’s hold on his temper slipped even further. “If he somehow had a hand in this, he’ll wish Ihadkilled him!”

“Calm down!” I hissed. “These humans may not be able to see your power, but they’ll notice if you flip this table.”

While he lapsed into his breathing exercises, Travis and John filled Mira and me in on everything that had happened last fall, including a more detailed description of how Argaud had “targeted” Gemma and why.

“Where is this guy now?” Mira asked.

“Doing twenty in the Box.” Travis paused long enough to take a drink of his pop. “He was tried and convicted for a number of crimes in December.”

“Well, I don’t know where or what the box is, but let’s go have a chat with him.” She looked over at me. “Maybe there were some things that didn’t come out at his trial.”

“I don’t think they’re going to let you just stroll into the Box.” Travis frowned. “Do you know how that works, Rome?”

“I’ll call Clem,” I said. “He can get us in.”

“Reilly has no reason to help us.” Gigi shook her head. “Even if you can arrange a trip to the Box, he won’t talk to us.”

“He’ll talk to me, one way or another,” Kerry muttered.

“Dude,” John deadpanned, “they’re not going to let you bring hot coals into a prison.”

“There’s more, too,” Travis said. “Well, I think there is. It’s hard going backward through someone’s social media sites with no context.”

“Get to the point,” Kerry growled.

“There are other children on Grandma Argaud’s site besides Reilly’s twin. Her name’s Marlie, by the way, but Grandma calls her Lee-Lee. Grandma posts regularly about her and the other two kids.”

“Who are the other two?” Gigi asked when Travis paused to take a breath.

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