With Kennedy out of the fray, Gabby thought she might have a chance to figure out how she’d landed in the middle of this mess and, maybe, before anyone else got hurt, make sense of all the things Rob had told her.

Gabby dug deep into a well of patience that bordered on bone-dry. One attempt at being tactful, then she was playing the mom card and handing down a because I said so. “You are not taking the bus.”

“Not Don’t go, Kennedy.” Kennedy used her most obnoxious mimicking voice to deliver that one. “What you’re worried about is me being seen on a bus?”

Oh, child. Gabby wished she were on a bus right now. Anywhere but standing there, engaging in this ridiculous fight. She’d vowed to go easy on Kennedy as she worked her way through the information that had gotten dumped on her . . . but there were limits. “It’s about safety. It’s not safe for you to travel alone.”

“Right.” Liam nodded. “You need to stay here.”

Okay, no. She and Liam weren’t quite on the same page about this. “Maybe leaving isn’t a bad idea, in general, but not alone on a bus.”

Liam stared at her. “Why the change?”

Rather than chime in, Kennedy snorted. Gabby found that more annoying than the snide tone.

“Things have been . . .” Gabby tried to send Liam a silent message. “Weird around here.”

Kennedy snorted again. “See? She wants me gone so you two can—”

“That’s enough,” Liam said, sounding very much like a dad, which was becoming a habit for him. “Your mother is right.”

“Of course you’d side with her.”

To his credit, Liam didn’t flinch. “Your mom witnessed an accident today where the man died.”

“What?” That quick Kennedy’s mood shifted. Her voice morphed from dramatic teen anger to one tinged with genuine concern. “Were you hurt again?”

“No, baby. I’m fine.” Gabby cupped Kennedy’s cheeks, desperate not to burden her daughter with one more worry, then gave her a quick kiss on the head. “But between the break-in and the accident, nothing feels safe here right now. I need you away, in school, with security, and not near DC.”

Kennedy slouched as if some of the fury ran out of her. “Is that really why? You told me that you weren’t together, but you were kissing.”

“No, we weren’t,” Liam said.

Gabby shook her head. “That’s not what you saw.”

For a few seconds, Kennedy’s gaze traveled back and forth, assessing and decrypting. “You’re pretty transparent. The way you two feel for each other.” She visibly swallowed, looking young and vulnerable and too breakable. “I see it now.”

That was not a road Gabby wanted to venture down. “That’s in your head.”

Kennedy rolled her eyes. “Right. I’m the one with the problem.”