The streets of Bentley were mostly deserted.

At least the part of town Cam was in.

Before she left his house, Travis had given her a rough idea of where she might find Necco. Not that the town was big, but there were certain areas a kid like him tended to hang out.

A kid like him.

Cam made a face.

She’d run around with plenty of kids like him.

Bram, the guy now working at Lulu’s, had once been a kid like him.

As had Alex.

A person’s past didn’t define them—it only did if they let it. From what little she knew of Necco, she was thinking he might be the kind of kid who could break free from the stranglehold of his neighborhood. He just needed a way out.

And Cam intended to offer him one.

If she could find him.

She turned right at the streetlight she’d just approached, rounding the corner where an abandoned building took up half a city block. The windows had been boarded up, and weeds sprouted from cracks in the parking lot. Graffiti decorated the only visible side of the building, most of it unrecognizable to her. Next door was an auto body shop that appeared to be closed. A bar sat next to the shop, a half-lit blinking neon sign indicating it was open. Two cars and a motorcycle filled the parking spaces alongside it, and a small sign parked outside the entrance advertised the specials for the day.

Cam drove past as slowly as she dared. She didn’t want to bring any attention to herself, but she wanted to make sure she had the opportunity to really look for Necco.

Next to her, her phone buzzed to life.

She didn’t even glance at it. She knew who was calling.

Alex.

She tried not to feel too guilty about leaving him behind. She had no doubt he was probably furious with her. She couldn’t blame him. She’d be pissed, too.

But she also knew they needed to act. They’d found a safe place to stay at her grandmother’s assisted living facility, but they couldn’t stay there forever. Alex had expressed zero interest—had outright objected, actually—to her suggestions of ways to move forward with his case.

Sitting and doing nothing wasn’t an option. Someone would catch up with them eventually.

Someone already had, she reminded herself with a frown. And if one of his enemies had tracked Alex to Aspen Falls, the other people who were looking for him wouldn’t be far behind.

Cam didn’t want to play defense anymore. She didn’t want them to be sitting around waiting to see what might happen next.

No, she’d decided. Better to get out in front and start asking questions. Start looking for new avenues, because the road they were currently traveling was bound to end in a dead end.

She turned left at the stop sign, into a neighborhood of apartments and duplexes. She could tell that at one point, it had been a well-maintained part of town. Tall, thick oak trees lined the road, providing a leafy canopy of shade. The duplexes were large, with broad patches of lawn in front of them and garages positioned behind equally large backyards.

But the homes themselves had fallen into disrepair. Flaked paint on wood siding, windows adorned with wrought iron bars—not for decoration but for safety—steps that seemed to sag under the weight of the burdens its occupants carried.

There were no kids outside, despite the beautiful early fall day. And then Cam remembered. It was Tuesday—a school day.

She swallowed a lump of disappointment. Necco was a kid, which meant he was probably sitting in a classroom somewhere and not roaming the streets.

Cam drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. It was still morning, which meant school wouldn’t be out for hours still.

Could she really hang around Bentley for that long?

She wasn’t sure she had a choice—not if she wanted a chance at finding Necco.

She sighed. She’d intended to be gone a couple of hours, at most. If things had gone according to plan, she would find Necco, talk to him, get him to agree to help, and then pull him out of town and make arrangements to get him to Miguel. And then she’d tell Alex.

Everything would fall into place from there. With a witness willing to testify to what happened that fateful night, she could bring in her department, BCA, the feds—everyone. Alex wouldn’t be totally safe, considering there were still gang members who wanted him dead, but at least he’d be able to receive police protection.

That was the best-case scenario.

Unfortunately, she was having a hard time getting to the very first step.

Her stomach gurgled, and Cam was reminded that she hadn’t eaten anything since she’d woken up. She saw a convenience store up ahead, with two single gas pumps out front. She doubted they’d have much variety but all she really needed was a Coke and a snack. Muffin, chips, a candy bar—she wasn’t picky.

She pulled into the lot just as her phone buzzed with an incoming call. This time she did look at it.

Alex.

Of course.

She flipped it over so she wouldn’t have to see his number.

There were no cars in the lot, no cars at the pump, and she wondered if the store was even open. But the lights were on inside, and she thought she saw someone standing behind the counter. She grabbed her purse and reached for the door handle.

Just as she was stepping out of the car, the door to the store pushed open and a kid darted outside.

A tall kid. Skinny. Dressed in jeans that sagged to his thighs and a plain white T-shirt.

And a Magic hat.

Cam sucked in a breath.

She forgot about being hungry and thirsty.

All she could think of was one thing.

She’d just found Necco.