Nearly two hours later, dinner had been eaten and the dishes cleaned up. Isaac and Trevor had retreated to Isaac’s room, still sulking about Nick selling his sports car, and Brock had taken his mother home, leaving Alyssa and Holly alone once more.

Holly tipped her head to the folder Alyssa had been studying when she’d come in. ‘I know you can’t really discuss the particulars of the leads you have, but if you want to talk things out, I can listen – and be discreet.’

Alyssa knew she was asking not only because she was genuinely concerned, but also because her daughter had decided, after what had happened to her brother in April and her friends in May, to stay in Albuquerque and study criminology, following in her mother’s footsteps.

Alyssa sighed. ‘I wish I could.’

Holly patted her mom’s hands before gathering her keys. ‘Just so you know, the offer’s not going any place; it’s always there – even if you won’t take me up on it because you “can’t.” No matter what, though, I have faith in you, Mom. You’ll find them and bring them home to their families.’ She kissed Alyssa’s cheek. ‘I’ll text you when I get home. Love you.’

She squeezed her daughter’s hand once before releasing it. ‘Love you right back.’

Chapter Fifteen

Friday, October 4

It was nearing ten p.m. Friday night, and Alex counted the steps it took to traverse from the refrigerator to the front door and back again, the fire burning inside growing hotter with every trip. When the key sounded in the lock almost an hour later, the explosion of anger burst through.

‘Didn’t I tell you last night to stay put? I told you I’d come by as soon as I could and take care of the problem, but when I get here, not only are you not here, but I also haven’t been able to reach you all damn day! Where are they? What the hell did you do?’ Two fists pummeled Adam’s chest before he could fully step through the front door. A sense of satisfaction flowed through Alex when Adam winced and reached up to rub the spot.

Of the two of them, Adam was clearly by far the physically strongest, yet he was too weak mentally to stand up for himself – at least most days. But when Adam spoke calmly through clenched teeth, it became clear that Alex’s influence on him was waning. And that couldn’t happen. Especially not now.

‘I’m not telling you. You’ll just have to trust that I’ – this time it was Adam’s own thumb that jabbed repeatedly into his sternum – ‘took care of the problems myself. And I did it my way.’ Uncharacteristically, he refused to avert his gaze, refused to back down under Alex’s lethal glare.