“But no father is perfect, and if I’ve been wrong about Jason, if I’ve been harsh and unfair, I’ll do what I can to fix it. I’ll talk to him. I’ll try. That’s a promise. And if I’ve been hard on you, too much a shadow on your life, it’s only because I lost Robert, and thought I’d lost Jason, and because you scare me, son. I won’t lie. There’s a fire in you I can’t temper or control, and I worry about fires that burn too hot. I guess that’s what I’m saying: that I worry more for you than I do for Jason, more than I ever did for Robert. And if that’s made me a bad father, I’m sorry for that, too. If it’s put this anger in you, if it’s ruined what we’ve always had…”

He looked away, and I told him it was okay, that we were fine.

“Do you really believe that?” he asked.

“I’m trying to.”

He wanted more, but that was all I had, those few words before I walked into the morning heat, started the Mustang, and pointed it at Chance’s house.

For Reece, it felt like being pulled apart. He needed to be here, but wanted to be with the girl. He’d looked so long for the right girl; there’d been so many disappointments.

“Your friend is late.”

He dropped the curtain and turned from the street. The kid couldn’t help that his friend was slow, but X would be awake by now, and eager for information. If he knew that Byrd was missing, he’d have a location: Reece’s home. And the girl was at Reece’s home.

“Did he seem normal on the phone?”

“Yes.”

“Nothing strange? No suspicions?”

“No.”

Reece studied the kid, looking for the lie. He was slumped, the jaw slightly open. “If you’re lying, you’ll regret it.”

“I already regret it.”

It was the first life Reece had seen in the boy, and he felt unexpected sympathy. “If you hadn’t made the call, I’d have killed you. You’ll feel better once you accept that fact.”

But the kid didn’t understand. Or wouldn’t.

Reece paced the room until a car sound took him back to the window. Not the French kid, but almost as good. The driver slowed to check the address, then did as Reece had asked, parking up the street, and then walking back to the house, a large duffel bag hanging from each shoulder. He moved quickly for such a tall and heavy man, wind rising off the street to stir his shaggy hair. Unlocking the door, Reece said, “You’re late.”

“Yeah, well.” The big man shouldered past. “It’s not the easiest address to find.”