Trouble comes in threes. That’s what they always said. Mo sure as hell hoped that was true, because she wasn’t sure she could handle any more troublemakers. A few hours earlier she woke to Vic frantically shaking her. “Nate took off,” he said, his voice thick with betrayal.

“He’ll be back,” Mo said confidently. No way he would leave her. One look at Vic’s face told Mo she was wrong. “His shit’s gone. All of it.”

Mo pushed past Vic, surveying his tent. Clothes, books, even Nate’s prized Rickenbacker guitar were gone. She realized now that someone should have been watching him. They would have to discuss that error later.

Mo was profoundly disappointed, but none of this was Nate’s fault. He wasn’t thinking rationally. It was that girl. She poisoned him. They had to do something about her.

“Find out what happened. Someone must have heard him packing up or saw him leaving,” Mo said.

“Mo, I already know what happened. It’s my fault,” Vic said.

“What is it?”

Vic didn’t hesitate, his words spilling out as though he needed to unburden himself. “Leslie tricked me. Made me think she wanted… that she was interested in me again. She started asking all these questions, saying she wanted to get closer. Mo… I told her things… about Eli, and Ash, and the reckonings.”

She rarely lost her temper, but Mo couldn’t help herself. “What the hell were you thinking?” Mo snapped.

Vic hung his head. “I’m sorry, Mo. I’m so sorry.”

Mo went quiet, hating the hangdog look on Vic’s face. The stress of these past few days was getting to her, but that didn’t mean she had to take it out on Vic. She could handle this. She was always good in a crisis.

“At least we know where to start. I want to speak with Leslie and find out why she did what she did. Do you know where she is?”

“She went to get food with Kelsey. She’ll be back soon,” Vic said.

“She needs to know that we mean business. Can you make that clear?”

“Of course, Mo. Of course,” Vic promised. She watched as he lumbered off in search of Leslie.

She watched him go, her annoyance fading. He was one of the best parts about this life she was living. She slipped into her tent, knowing that tonight would be emotionally taxing, and needing to rest. She thought about Vic, loving how trusting and good-hearted he was, and hating how people used that goodness again him. Mo and Vic were an unlikely pair. She understood that. They met two years ago at the beginning of Mo’s home-free journey. When she found herself out on the streets in her forties, Mo wasn’t sure what to do or where life would take her.