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"You"Just pull some cash out of your account and pay hirand each visit"
"And what about the dae unit here in town, at the place beside the grocery store I’ll leave the key for it at the desk Unit nineteen-B"
Car the only thing inside He stared at it for athethe lock back on it
He pocketed the key and strolled next door to the grocery store for so to drink, the place empty except for the lone cashier She barely looked at hiazine as he tossed her some cash for a bottle of Cherry Coke and a Toblerone
On the way back out, Carmine’s footsteps faltered when his eyes fell upon the crinkled paper taped to the glass near the exit He snatched it off, studying it as he strolled through the parking lot in the dark The word MISSING ritten along the top, ominously black and bold, while a fae He earing his favorite cao pants in the shot, his baseball cap pulled do
Carmine could re his eyes, he could even faintly round They had been out at Aurora Lake a mere few days before their friendship had fallen apartbefore their lives took a draency roo--Nicholas with a sprained ankle and Carash in his eyebrow It was the day Carmine had dared his best friend to sleep with the nurse at the hospital, Jen
The only dare the boys had h, since Nicholas was dead now, and the nurse was, too
The subtle glow froht illuminated Carone, the entire day fading away He hadinto his car, Caret a better look at the flyer Guilt nagged hi a reward, Haven’s earlier words running through histo happen because of me? she had asked, but Carmine wondered exactly how much more hurt he would cause How many more families would he ruin, how manyanyone who dared to get close to hiotten his best friend killed Who would be next?
Sighing, he tossed the paper onto the passenger seat and grabbed Haven’s notebook, hoping to put those thoughts out of his et for a while He glanced through the scribble, looking for a distraction, but the sinking feeling in the pit of his storew as he took in Haven’s frenzied words She wrote a lot about the pain she had been through, the writing growing ot There were dozens of sketches accoue he couldn’t tell what they were, while others were so in depth it was like seeing it with his own eyes
Turning to a page about halfway through, Carmine’s name jumped out at hiraph Haven ether, disheartened by their situation He read it all with anxious eyes, tensing when he ca you want ertips?
As et to hi her freedom, he had yanked it back away He hadn’tas she ith him, she would never be in control of her life
He flipped through a few es, barely able to pay attention to theht his eye It was startlingly in depth, the man’s features perfectly detailed One side of his face was pristine, while the other half was severely disfigured His skin appeared to be rotesque face The wordfrantic and barely legible
It nized the man
The house was silent when Carmine made it home, the notebook tucked in the crook of his arm He headed upstairs, mentally exhausted from the day, and hesitated on the second floor when he saw the door to his father’s office open Car in the doorway
Vincent sat at his desk with his phone to his ear, unaware he was no longer alone He iers on the ar as he listened to whomever was on the line
"That’s not acceptable," he said, his expression severe "I understand your situation, but you need to understand mine I have a family to consider, and you may not care about the about so don’t patronizeit isn’t, and I don’t appreciate being lied to Find another way"
Another brief pause ensued, followed by a sharp, angry laugh from Vincent "Then count uard by the serious conversation The movement drew his father’s attention Panic sparked in Vincent’s eyes He hung up without giving the person a chance to respond and eyed Carmine carefully, but he offered no explanation
"Who was that?" Carmine asked
"Lawyer"
Car your way out of trouble?"
"More like settling things before they tie the knot on my noose"
"That bad?" They may not have been close over the years, but Car his father
"Yes, it’s that bad, son," Vincent said "We used to be able to talk our way out of anything, but our power has even less influence than our money these days"
Curious about his father’s bitterness, Car to be invited "Can I ask you so?"
Vincent leaned back in his chair "Sure"
"Do you regret getting involved?"
"Yesand no I’vethe oath for your ret that I wish I wouldn’t have had to, but I did And I’d do it again" Vincent paused "You knoas furious when I found out what you’d done, and as uess--ingrained in your DNA You would’ve sacrificed for her eventually, someway, somehow You are your mother’s child, after all"
"I’m apparently yours, too"