Chapter 6

My father won’t look at me. That’s the first red flag. Thomas Lane has a whole repertoire of blue‑collar dad habits—bad TV, worse coffee, dad jokes that died in 1998—but avoiding eye contact isn’t one of them. Today he moves around the kitchen like I’m a live wire. “Coffee?” he asks, already reaching for a mug, shoulders hunched. Sure, kid, pretend it’s just another Sunday. Don’t let them find her. Don’t let them find her. The thought skitters across my mind like...