“That’s good.” Harper had finished with the dishes, but she left the tap on, preferring the sound so it would drown out the silence and tension in the room.

“Harper, turn off the water,” Brian said. “I need to tell you something.”

She shut off the faucet but grabbed a rag to wipe down the counter, continuing her attempts to busy herself.

“Harper. Sit down. I need to talk to you.”

“Just a sec, Dad,” Harper said, scrubbing at a nonexistent spot on the counter.

“Harper,” Brian said, with a firmness to his words that made Harper flinch.

She draped the rag over the sink, then went over to the table and sat down across from him. The whole time she kept her eyes lowered, afraid of how she might react if she looked at him directly.

Seeing her father so haggard like that, she was terrified she would spill everything to him. But she couldn’t tell him about the sirens or what had really become of Gemma, and not just because he’d think she was insane.

In fact, that would be better than if he believed her. If he knew that Gemma was a siren, that she’d run off with actual monsters, he would lose his mind trying to protect her, and Harper couldn’t bear the thought of that.

“I have bad news,” Brian said gravely. He reached across the table, wanting to take Harper’s hand, but she wouldn’t give it to him. “When I was at the police station, I found out something.”

She gulped, swallowing down the painful acid in her stomach that wanted to rise. She wasn’t sure what else Brian could’ve possibly found out. And she wasn’t sure that she could handle any more bad news.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but…” He paused, trying to form the words. “Bernie McAllister has been murdered.”

And then in one horrible rush it all came back to her, pulling all the air from her lungs and twisting her stomach in knots.

Harper had managed to forget about it until now. But that wasn’t quite right, either. She hadn’t forgotten it. It would be impossible to forget about the death of someone who’d been so important to her.

Her mind had blocked it out, giving her a few more peaceful hours when she didn’t have to think about it. But now it was back, the image of his body eviscerated in the trees outside of his cabin.

Bernie was one of the kindest people she’d ever known, a gentle old man with a soft British accent. He’d helped care for both Harper and Gemma after their mom had gotten hurt in the car accident.