My eyes are sore and gritty. I squint against the cruel sunlight and pull my cap down a little farther.

Stupid baseball game. I don’t even want to play today.

It’s an away game too, so it just elongates the whole damn thing.

Most of the team were stoked to get out of class early so we could make it to Cullington on time, but even that didn’t make me feel better.

I haven’t slept properly since Vincent basically broke up with me in the hallway. That was nearly three weeks ago, and I’m exhausted.

I can’t believe he gave me an ultimatum—him or the truth.

Why did he have to do that?

He doesn’t get it!

He wanted me to choose him, but I am choosing him. If you care about someone, you put their needs above your own.

I’ve written him a note every day since, trying to explain myself, but he hasn’t replied to any of them. He won’t speak to me. He makes a point of looking the other way when I try to catch his eye.

Talk about torture.

I know what he’s doing. He’s convinced he’s keeping me safe by staying out of it. And maybe in some ways, he is. I haven’t raised it with Dad yet—I kind of wanted Vincent’s blessing before doing that—so I’ve just been quietly researching on the internet. I popped into the library to drag up some of Todd’s old articles. I was looking for anything that might trigger some kind of clue, but so far I’ve come up empty.

I need to tell Dad what I know.

He’s been doing shitty hours at work this week, but I have to pin him down this weekend. Maybe if I solve this, Vincent will be open to being with me again.

Max stomps toward me, giving me a half-hearted high five before plunking down on the bench seat.

“Nice batting, sis.” I nudge her with my elbow.

“Whatever,” she grumbles, brushing a few stray hairs off her cheek.

“What’s up with you?”

She dips her head forward, holding onto the bill of her cap so I can’t see her face.

“Max?”

She groans. “Audition and big game are on the same day.”

“What?”

Her shoulders slump with a sigh and she looks over at me, talking softly so no one can hear us. Holden’s up to bat, so Maddie’s thoroughly distracted.

“You got this, babe!” She claps.

I lean in a little closer to hear Max’s grumbling. “I thought I could do both, but I’ve just found out this afternoon that the game and the audition are at the same time. Austin told me, and I was too scared to admit that it’s going to clash with the game.”

“So you haven’t told the band yet?”

“No. How am I supposed to let them down that way? They specially let me in, which is a really big deal, and now I can’t even make it because of stupid baseball!”

“Aw, Maxy, I’m sorry.” I rub her shoulder. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know! I can’t let Dad down, but how the hell am I supposed to tell Cairo that I can’t make it to the audition?”

“Well, which do you want more?”

My sister gives me a telling look.

“Then you’ve got to tell Dad.”

Max scoffs. “Yeah, right.”

“What are you so afraid of?”

“He won’t get it. Dad’s impossible to talk to.”

“He’s not that bad.”

“Yes, he is.” Max gives me an emphatic look. “He only hears what he wants to hear.”

I shake my head, silently disagreeing with her. Sure, talking to Dad is hard work, but it’s not impossible. He acts like a grizzly bear sometimes, but at the end of the day we’re his daughters and he loves us. It’s all about how you word things.

You know what, I’m going to prove Max wrong. I’ll test Dad out tonight and see if I can’t get him looking at things from my perspective. Maybe it’ll give Max the courage to try it out herself.

* * *

Dad’s in a good mood after finding out that we won the game. Uncle Conrad came along for the ride so he’s given Dad a play-by-play rundown, talking Max up the way he’s always done.

Maddie chips in with her own bits of information and dinner ends up being a jovial, chatty affair.

Except for Max and me.

We’re pretty damn quiet…and no one even notices.

After dinner, Maddie excuses herself to go help Holden at Cresthill. Mom and Dad have really warmed to Holden, especially when they found out about his volunteer work.

“You doing anything with Rahn tonight? It is a Friday.” Mom grins.

“Uh, no, she’s got a family thing, so I’m just kicking around here tonight.”

“We could go catch a movie.” Max looks at me hopefully and I instantly know she’s saying, Be my cover for Cairo. Please, please!

“Sure, I’ll just help Dad with the dishes first. It’s my turn.”

“Cool. I’ll go get ready.” Max practically skips away from the table.

“You can go, sweets. I don’t mind doing this.”

“No way.” I grin at my father. “You’ve been doing horrible hours. I’m not going to leave you alone with a pile of dishes on your first night off.”

He winks at me and we clear the table together.

Dad starts rinsing and stacking the dishwasher while I clear off the table. Soon all that’s left are the pots and wineglasses Mom likes us to wash by hand.

“Hey, Dad.” I grab a dishtowel and spin it around my finger while the sink fills.

“Uh-huh?”

“You know that murder case from just over a year ago?”

“The McCrae one?”

“Yeah. Have you ever looked into that?”

“No.” He glances over his shoulder with a confused frown. “Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “Don’t you think it’s weird that Nick Mancini swore he was innocent and then went quiet about it?”

“Uh…no. Guilty people do that all the time.”

“But surely you get a feel for who’s telling the truth and who isn’t.”

“Sometimes. And other times people fool you. There are a lot of conmen in this world.”

“I know.” I bob my head. “But from what I’ve heard, the case doesn’t add up to me.”

“From what you’ve heard?” Dad snickers. “Honey, we don’t reopen old cases unless we have something solid to go on, and Nick Mancini’s word is hardly solid. Not to mention the rumors you’ve no doubt heard.” He puts the pot in the rack and gives me a quizzical frown. “What’s got you asking this anyway? Vincent hasn’t been threatening you or anything, has he? Forcing you to manipulate me somehow?”

“What?” My nose wrinkles. “No, of course not. Why would you think that?”

“Because you said someone told you that something was off. The only person that could truly benefit from Nick’s release is his family.”

“Well, Vincent has never asked me to come to you.”

“Good. I hope he’s never asked you anything.”

“What?”

“Look, sweets, I know your style is to always give people the benefit of the doubt, but that can be dangerous. Some people are just born bad, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

I plunk the pot on the counter, kind of annoyed. “How can you think that way? You’re a cop. Aren’t you supposed to have hope in humanity?”

“My job is to protect the good people by putting the bad guys away. That’s my hope. That’s why I work so damn hard, so that I can protect and keep innocent people out of harm’s way. And the Mancini family makes it very difficult for me to do that.”

“But not all of them, right? I mean, you’ve never had to arrest Vincent.”

“I’ve had to investigate him.”

“And it turned out he was innocent.”

“That doesn’t mean the rest of his family is. People are right to stay clear of them.”

I snatch the small pot and furiously start drying it. “I still think people judge when they don’t have all the facts, or they don’t understand the backstory. Sometimes the best people can be dressed like wolves, and wolves can be dressed like lambs.”

He gives me a confused look, then snickers. “That’s true, but are you calling the Mancinis lambs now?”

“No.” I let out an awkward chuckle. “But what if Nick was innocent and he got put away for a crime he didn’t commit?”

Dad flashes me a sad smile. “Sometimes that happens, but I don’t think that’s the case with this one.”

“But—”

“Chloe, you have to trust me on this. You’re not out there dealing with that family. They’re a bunch of merciless thugs who don’t care about anything but money and power. You just don’t see it because I don’t tell you about it.”

“I see Vincent at school.” My heart is hammering so hard right now as I imagine admitting that I’ve actually made out with Vincent, and the fact that we’re not speaking at the moment is breaking my heart.

I can’t see that going over so well, especially when Dad keeps talking.

“You don’t hang out with him. You don’t go home with him, thank God. The environment he’s being raised in has to have a bad effect on the poor kid. That’s probably why he’s got such a foul temper, why he always chooses fists over a calm conversation.”

I frown.

Dad rinses off the frying pan and lays it in the rack. “I’m not trying to sound harsh, but that boy should be given a wide berth. I don’t want you trying to be nice to him or becoming his friend. And I’m allowed to say that, because I’m your dad and it’s my job to keep my daughters safe. I know you want to save the world, Chloe, but not everyone can be saved. I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t care about you. Your sweet heart makes you vulnerable sometimes.” Drying off his hands, he gently holds my face and makes me look up at him. “I love my girls more than anything. It’s my privilege to provide for you, and guide you in the right direction. I want you to have the best life you possibly can.”

Max steps into the kitchen and Dad lets me go, taking the dishtowel from me. “I’ll finish up. You girls go enjoy your movie.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Max throws me my jacket, then grabs my hand and tugs me out of the kitchen before I can even put it on.

“I don’t know what you were talking about in the kitchen. I only heard the last part, but I was right, right? He didn’t hear a word you said.”

I harrumph as Max unlocks the car and starts laughing at me. “I told you!” she singsongs.

Buckling up, I cross my arms and lean back in the seat while Max gets the right music going before reversing out of the drive.

“Cairo’s meeting us at the theater.”

“Awesome,” I mutter, so not in the mood to play third wheel. But what else am I supposed to do?

It’s not like I can show up at Vincent’s door.

Crap, I can’t even call him!

Max starts singing to “Sugar, We’re Going Down,” oblivious to my internal angst.

I should just make my life easier and drop this whole thing.

But the thought of letting an innocent man stay behind bars makes my stomach curdle.

I have to figure out who these people are and expose them.

I just wish I didn’t have to do it alone.