I end the call and stand in my brother’s front yard, head bowed, thinking. A squirrel chases another squirrel in the branches of an oak, sending a single green leaf floating to the ground in their wake. Then I fold up the Leatherman tool and put it back in my pocket. I look at my phone and memorize the number Finn called me from, although he’s most likely ditched that phone for another one. Then I lay my phone on Ethan’s porch. I look at the solid front door, hear the muted sounds of the ballgame on the TV, hear someone laugh. I close my eyes and put my palm on the door, only for a second. Then I’m down the steps and walking to my bike, the keys already in my pocket. I’ve got a few more things to get at the Store-N-Go unit, and then I’ll head to the airport.

“Suzie?”

Startled, I turn quickly, hands up in a defensive position. But it’s only Caesar, holding a bag of trash he’s carrying to the garbage can by the side of the house. “What are you doing?”

“Finn called.” I walk to the bike. “I have to go.”

“What do you mean, you have to—”

“If I don’t leave now, he’ll kill all of you.” I pull my helmet out of the storage compartment, then swing my leg over the seat, the stitches in my side tugging. That’s going to be annoying. “I left my phone on the porch,” I say. “Check the number. And the side of the porch.” I start the bike, the engine firing up immediately.

“Suzie.” Caesar looks almost lost, and that about breaks me. Caesar’s made of iron. He can’t be lost, because what would that make me?

“Tell everyone …” I say, then swallow. I grin, so widely it almost hurts my cheeks. “Tell everyone I love them.”

I pull my helmet on and turn to face forward and head down the driveway, navigating the dips and bumps of the asphalt as the trees form a tunnel, one that’s dark despite the lingering sunlight. And then I’m out of the driveway and on the street, and I turn toward Roswell Road and ride off without looking back.

I’m going to find Finn.

And I’m going to end him. Guaranteed.

Because until I am rid of him, I can never go home.

Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to Madeline Rathle, Rebecca Nelson, Melissa Rechter, Dulce Botello, Rema Badwan, Matt Martz, and all the other folks at Crooked Lane Books. Special thanks to my editor Terri Bischoff for helping me bring Suzie to life.

Kudos to my agent Peter Steinberg as well as Yona Levin and everyone else at Fletcher & Company.

Many thanks to Talia Panowich for helping me to keep it real.