“Have you seen her?” I showed the picture I’d drawn to yet another volunteer at yet another shelter for women and families. This one was run out of a church and just being there made me feel even more self-conscious than normal, but I knew Daytin had stayed here a couple of times in the past.

“I haven’t seen her this morning,” the woman at the desk said. She gave me a searching look, then nodded. “She could’

ve come in last night and is helping in the back right now. Why don’t you go ahead back and take a look.”

“Thank you,” I said.

I was familiar with the setup. This was the sort of place that would put a roof over your head and food in your belly, but you had to work while you were here.

I hit the kitchen, checked with the cleaning crews, and even those who took turns watching the kids. I asked each person individually, showed them my drawing. I told the residents how I knew Daytin so they wouldn’t be afraid to talk to me, and I let my new clothes speak for me with the workers.

Still, nothing.

Despondent, I headed back to the front, signed out, and then went back into the early summer heat.

“Now what?” I asked myself as stood on the street and tried to figure out where else I could look. She wasn’t at any of her normal haunts, and if I knew her as well as I thought I did, she wouldn’t be anywhere somebody might expect to find her either. She was running scared. That meant she was going to do whatever she could to avoid being found.

The number she’d called me from the other day was from a shelter too, but she’d been long gone by the time I’d landed in Vegas. Still, it had been my first stop this morning, so it’d given me a place to start. Now, though, I honestly had no idea where to go next.

Pulling out my phone, I read through her most recent messages again, searching for something, anything, that would give me a hint of what to do. Stupid, I knew, but I did it anyway. It was no surprise when I reached the end with nothing.

Shoving a hand into my hair, I tugged at the heavy mess, freeing it before twisting it up again just for something to do with my hands. “Dammit, Daytin. How am I supposed to help you when I can’t even find you?”

Almost like an answer, my phone rang from my hip pocket. Heart freezing, I slowly withdrew it without looking at the screen. If it was somebody other than Daytin…

My heart sank at the sight of Kaleb’s face. Son of a bitch. I ran a hand up and down my face, and then took the call.

“You aren’t at your apartment.” His words were calm, but I heard the worry in his tone. “I went by work and they said you needed a few days off. Are you sick?”

Say yes.

But I’d never been a good liar if I wasn’t strung out and jonesing for more, and even then, Kaleb could almost always tell.

“No. I just needed some downtime,” I said, hedging and hoping he’d go for that.

Hope died a quick, painful death.

“Downtime? Then why aren’t you at your place, reading and vegging out? And…Cam, look, I don’t want to come down on you or anything, but you had one semester, and a light one at that. If you can’t handle even that much stress, maybe...”

His years of disappointment and shame piled on me, but I didn’t let it change what I had to say. “Kaleb, you do realize that aside from time with you, Piety, and Astra, I’ve done nothing but work and go to school for the past semester? Nothing. I’m getting cabin fever, okay? I just needed a break. And without my nanny—I mean, my big brother, breathing down my neck.”

I hated how easy it was to say those words. Maybe I’d gotten better at lying.

“I’m not a nanny,” Kaleb snapped, his voice peevish.

“You act like one. And right now, you sound like one.” And because it felt good and the more mature, wiser Camry had fallen asleep or something, I stuck my tongue out at the phone. Sure, I was trying to keep from finding out where I really was and what I was doing, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t some truth in those words.

His voice softened, just like it always did when concern became stronger than anger. “Camry, love, look, I know this has all been hard on you, but I’m just…I worry, okay? Come on, tell me where you are. If you’re wanting girl time or…I don’t know, whatever, maybe Piety can come join you.”

“I need away time, Kaleb. As in breathing time. Alone.”

Somebody bumped into me, and I absently stepped farther away from the curb and the rush of footsteps. It was getting close to noon which meant even in this seedier, less touristic area of Las Vegas, the streets were filling up. I needed to get off the phone before he figured out where I was.

“Kaleb, I’m just taking a few days, okay? I’m a big girl. I can do that.”

Then I disconnected the call and silenced the phone, shoving it into my pocket with more force than necessary.

Almost immediately, I pulled the device back out and stared at it hard for a moment, then I punched in a message to Daytin.

I’m not going to be answering my phone much over the next few days. But I want you to call me, honey. If you call and I don’t answer, text me. Best thing to do is text me before you call so I know to be watching for your call. Call me, please.

Message sent, I shoved it back into my pocket, then turned and hit the button to cross the street. While I waited, I laced my fingers behind my neck and looked up, stretching the sore, tense muscles there.

Well, this was…odd.

Yes, odd. That was the only way to describe it as I looked up and saw a blast from the past staring down at me from a near identical pose, hands locked behind his neck, lids low over amazing obsidian eyes, a faint smirk on his lips.

His face was on one of the huge, digital billboards, slanted toward the interstate to my left, but from my angle, all I had to do was look up and I’d see it. Him.

“Jacen,” I whispered.

Fuck.

Jacen Barbour.