Norah gave a small smile. “That’s my favorite part, too.”

“Okay.” Molly blew up her cheeks like a balloon and let her breath out with an audible puff. When John made an amused sound, she inwardly cringed at how goofily unattractive the face she’d just made must’ve looked, and then she immediately scolded herself for worrying whether John found her attractive when their world was currently imploding. “Now that we know that Cara’s staying in school and everyone has their assignments, let’s get to work.”

Norah tentatively raised her hand.

Blinking at her sister, Molly resisted the urge to say something sarcastic and just said, “Yes?” instead.

“What about the jobs we were already working on before the…Mom thing happened?”

Molly grimaced. “Try to stay on them as much as possible, but finding Mom and getting her back here in time for her hearing are paramount. Sorry. It’s going to be really busy and will almost definitely suck for a while, but we’ll get through this.”

Her sisters made unenthusiastic grumbles of agreement—although whether they agreed that they’d get through it or that things would suck was unclear—and Molly stood, her gaze finding John. He’d been quiet and stoic through most of the meeting, and his serious manner set her off-balance. She was used to a joking and devilishly teasing John, not this giant, somber statue leaning against her dining room wall.

“Ready for this?” she asked him.

His mouth twitched at the corner, just a tiny movement but enough to make him seem more like the John Carmondy she knew. “If I say no, will that change anything?”

“Not really.”

“I figured.” This time, his smile was more of a grimace. “Let’s go find Zarver, then.”

Chapter 10

Finding Sonny Zarver was easier said than done. Molly tapped at her phone screen as she thought, trying to come up with the best plan. She realized that Norah and Cara had spoiled her with their research skills, always handing Molly a file filled with leads and background information for each skip she was tracking. She hadn’t started from square zero in over a year.

Realizing that John hadn’t started his SUV, even though they were both buckled in, she gave him an inquiring glance.

“What’s next?” he asked.

The question took her by surprise. John had been doing that a lot lately, challenging assumptions about him she’d held on to since they’d first met. She’d figured that he’d want to lead, and that she would have to fight to get him to listen to her ideas, but he was just sitting there, waiting for her to tell him how they were going to run the show.

Her eyebrows lifted along with the corners of her mouth. She could work with this John Carmondy. “I’m starting from scratch on this one. Up until this point, I’ve always tried to avoid places where Sonny Zarver and his friends hang out.”

He smiled back at her. “Me too.”

“So much for that excellent plan.” As he made a grunt of amused agreement, she thought about the next step. “Let’s start at 200 Bluffside Road.”