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And nothing. Cool kid.

That’s it?

Lucas ...

She adds a frustrated emoji.

Kid clammed up when I asked about Lily.

Which meant what, exactly? Does he clam up because he’s scared, or is he scared and clams up? What does he know? What did he see? He could be in shock.

The less Josh tells them, the more she wants to know what happened. They really must find Lily.

Before she can ask Lucas his opinion, he texts again.

Tip, prince-sis. Don’t ask about Lily.

She bristles at his nickname, a mockery of their dad’s pet name for her. What is she supposed to do in the meantime? Sit on her ass? Lilycould be hurt or injured. She could be dead. What then? How does she tell Josh his mom is never coming for him?

How are we supposed to find out where she is?

He’ll tell us in his own time.

But you said he doesn’t know.

Olivia waits for the three dots to shimmer.

Lucas????(adds angry emoji)

He doesn’t reply. He’s done.

CHAPTER 10

Olivia sits in her backyard, firepit lit, burning through her second cigarette. She leans forward, arms braced on her knees, and flips her phone end over end. It’s late. Josh is asleep. His second night with her. Over twenty-four hours and still no word from Lily. Olivia can officially file a missing persons report, which she could have done the moment Josh arrived, but will do first thing in the morning, depending how her call goes with Ethan. Amber texted his phone number a short bit ago.

Nerves tap-dance in her stomach and shorten her breath. Her hands are shaking. It’s the same sensation she felt before she jumped off a thirty-foot cliff while river rafting in the Sierra Nevada foothills. His number is underlined in Amber’s text. All she has to do is tap the link, but she can’t motivate herself to call him. If she flew off the handle when she saw the texts from Macey on Blaze’s phone, how will she react when she hears Ethan’s voice?

This isn’t about you, she tells herself. Think of Josh. He needs his mom. Hopefully, his dad knows how to reach her.IfEthan is his dad. She swallows the knot of doubt left over from her conversation with Josh.

Before he went to bed, Olivia asked him if he’s met his father. Not in person, she deciphered from his stilted explanation.

“Is your dad Ethan Miller?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“No?” She stared hard at him to see if he was lying. Maybe Lily told him someone else is his dad. “Who is your dad? What’s his name?”

He tugged his bottom lip. “His name ... name ...” He stopped. “I can’t ...” His arm flopped to his side. He scowled and went back to his sketching.

“Can’t remember or can’t say?” she prodded, ducking to see his face when she noticed his fists. His cheeks had darkened. His expression drooping into one of defeat. She asked him to write his father’s name. He gave her gibberish on paper.

Anger was a gift ribbon curling through her limbs, its sharp edges scraping the underside of her skin like paper cuts. Josh’s face hadn’t lit up with recognition when she mentioned Ethan’s name. Why would Lily lie to her own son about Ethan? Unless Ethan isn’t the father.

One way to find out.

Olivia takes a final drag and snuffs her cigarette in the ashtray. Ethan has one social media account, an Instagram profile of photos from his travels. He’s been all over the world. They talked about traveling together after college. He’d write. She’d paint. They’d keep shallow roots, living a nomadic life. But she’s now firmly planted in the house her parents, hoping she’d return to the area, sold to her for a buck, and Ethan is a respected travel journalist. She read a few of his articles when she searched him.

Did he think about her? Did he gaze across the Black Sea, or turn his face into the wind while sailing around Crete, and wish Olivia was at his side? Did he ever take Lily with him?

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