Considering that it had been less than two months since Evan Bishop had been targeting young women, Holly couldn’t, in good conscience, allow her friend to go off on her own. If anything happened, well… she didn’t even want to consider something like that. ‘We’ll all go with you, then. We’ll even hang back, if you want, so it’ll be like we’re not even there.’ She widened her eyes at Sophie and Leigh Ann and tipped her head toward Jersey.

Grudgingly, Sophie agreed. ‘Right, like we’re not even there. See, zipping my mouth, throwing away the key starting now.’ She may have rolled her eyes as she made the offer, but at least Jersey didn’t see it.

Leigh Ann hooked her arm through Jersey’s and with forced cheer, said, ‘We’ll be like ghosts. Invisible. So, lead the way.’

A haunted look passed over Jersey’s face as more tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. Then she untangled her arm from Leigh Ann’s. ‘Thanks anyway.’

Holly frowned. ‘I really don’t like this, Jersey. At least text me when you get home, okay?’

‘Maybe. Look, don’t worry about me. I really just need to be alone to think about – everything.’ And then she walked to the corner where she waited for the light to change so she could cross the street onto the grounds of the university.

‘Did she just pass up an opportunity to share all that drama?’

Leigh Ann shot Sophie a dirty look. ‘She’s obviously got a lot on her mind. And you refusing to understand isn’t the most helpful.’

Sophie shrugged, unbothered by the chastisement. ‘Her dad’s a sleaze, and his mom’s death was just the green light he needed to dive into his midlife crisis. Everyone in my family hates him because he’s such a dirtbag. Probably why she latches onto Beau; it’s a daddy issue. And you know she’s going to call or text him as soon as we’re out of her sight. It’s ridiculous.’ Then flipping her perfectly straight, long black hair, she opened the passenger door, slid in, and slammed it shut, cutting off Leigh Ann’s reply.

Twenty minutes after she dropped off her friends, Holly flopped down on her bed and sent a text to Jersey reminding her to call if she needed or wanted to talk, then she donned a pair of headphones, swiped through to her favorite playlist, and closed her eyes as she waited for her family to return home from dinner.

She hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep until the door banged downstairs, startling her awake. She bolted upright, her heart jackhammering in her chest as she slowly became aware of her surroundings.

At the sound of her mom’s and Isaac’s voices, she smiled. Her family was home. She shut off her music, threw her headphones to the bed, and went to welcome her parents back.

Chapter Four

Sunday, May 19

‘Wh – where am I?’ Rachel choked out. Along with the four other occupants of the room, she was confined in what strongly resembled a jail cell with its thick metal bars stretching from floor to ceiling. Lining each wall with about twelve inches between them, were ten cots, the kind she’d seen used in military shows in makeshift hospitals.