“No. The situation is complicated, for sure, but your first instincts about me weren’t wrong. Despite how it may seem, I’ve always wanted to protect you. So has Crystal.”

“What do you mean, my instincts?” I say slowly.

“Crystal told me about your talents…and those DNA scans in your book are pretty interesting.”

I close my eyes, remembering my parents showing me the scans, my joy when they said I was meant to act—like them—and then how I shoved them into my book for safekeeping because the scans were printed on actual paper and I couldn’t bear to throw them away. But those scans also reveal the truth about my birth… Who else knows? My parents think they’ve buried the past to secure their future, but whose hands is their fate really in…? Despite the warm day, I shiver. Even though I shouldn’t care what happens to them, I can’t fully erase the desire to be their prized little girl.

“Where is the book now?” I ask, opening my eyes.

“I don’t know. Honestly.” He holds his hands up as if that could prove his innocence. “Crystal was my contact, and she handed it off to whoever hired her. But don’t worry. It’s in Disconnect hands.”

The sun beats down on my back, and sweat beads on my forehead. Remembering the wax in my pocket, I know I need to hurry and inch toward the shade of the restroom. “What do you want from Nicki?” I ask, backing away from him.

“I’m trying to protect her, just like I was trying to protect you. What about you and Garrett? What do you want?”

“It’s classified.”

He considers me before closing the distance between us. “Fair enough. Listen, Ella, I don’t know why you’re here, and your presence—especially Garrett’s—complicates things for me. I admit I’m no match for his charm, but I’m glad you’re here. I want us to be friends, Ella. And to prove it, I’ll send a fake hair sample for you.”

“I’d appreciate that, but I don’t know if we can be friends,” I say. All I know is I need to get out of here. Now. “Can I have a few minutes to myself? Please? This is a lot to process. Could you go back and tell everyone I went home to lay down?”

“If you need to lay down, let me make sure you get home okay.”

“Adam—Nash. Whoever you are. Seriously. I can’t think with you around. I’m going to the restroom.”

He nods but refuses to understand. “I’ll be here when you come out. Now that I’ve found you again, I’m not going to let you go.”