I want to wring her neck, not just for now, but for everything she’s done to me. But if I do, she’ll tell my father and I’ll be punished. That doesn’t mean I’m going to let this go.

She knows something about my mom, and I’m going to find out what.

Grinning at me one last time, she turns to leave. “Text me tonight with an update,” she calls out over her shoulder. “Or I’ll pay you a visit at your house tonight.” She strolls away, past the booths, and exits the diner.

I release a shaky breath, fighting back every instinct I have to chase after her and drag the truth from her stupid lips. If I’m going to get the truth out of her, I need to come up with a plan. But first, I need to look into this, because the last thing I need is to have her showing up at my house tonight.

So instead, I grab the file and head into the bathroom to do a couple of lines.

Slowly I feel it.

Dying.

The fear.

Everything.

After that I feel focused enough to return to the table to do a couple more lines. When I open the file, I start sifting through the few papers inside it. The waitress shows up eventually with my slice of pie and a drink. Whoever was looking into the town sheriff before me either didn’t do a good job or the sheriff has done a fantastic job at keeping information on him a secret. There’s hardly anything in here. Just some details about his position at his old job, where he moved from—basic stuff like that. But something does capture my attention. A few names on the paper or one in particular.

Ravenlee Wilowwynter.

The sheriff is her uncle. Why did I not put this together before?

Maybe because I was so caught up in the beautiful new girl with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen. And as I continue to sort through the papers, I soon discover why. Or at least one of the reasons.

Raven’s parents were murdered. That’s why she’s living with her aunt and uncle.

When I can’t find any of the details of what happened, I find a note implying that the police briefly thought Raven had something to do with it. Not that I believe it. The police get stuff wrong all the time. Still, I turn to searching the internet on my phone for more information. But nothing shows up. It’s almost like someone has wiped the information clean.

My thoughts drift back to that message Raven had me look into. Was that what this was about? Is she hiding her true identity or something? With how little information is in this folder, I’m wondering if the new sheriff and his family are, too.

“So, Diane’s already been here?” Zay suddenly appears and slides in the booth across from me.

Jax is right behind him, taking a seat beside Zay.