“When Arthur made the deal with me, I convinced him that it would be safer to deliver him when school was over. If I brought him in sooner, it would raise his suspicions.”

“So you have to pretend nothing is wrong?”

He nodded but didn’t elaborate. “Do you want dessert?”

“I’m okay. Besides, it’s your birthday,” I smiled. He looked up in surprise. “We should get you cake.”

“I’d rather have you for dessert.”

His voice deepened, his eyes darkened, and I just knew if he could, he would take me right here.

Keiran paid for dinner, and we rode in silence back to Six Forks. It wasn’t until he pulled up to my house and walked me to the door that he spoke.

“Thank you for being my first Valentine.” He stole a kiss packed with emotion and desperation. I decided that sweet Keiran was so much more of a panty melter than brooding Keiran.

When he finally released me, I was about to say goodnight when the front door opened and Aunt Carissa stood in the doorway with Jackson.

I could tell by my aunt’s expression that she wasn’t happy, and considering what Keiran told me this morning, I knew exactly why. It only just occurred to me how much he truly risked by simply taking me to dinner tonight.

“Lake, we need to talk. Keiran, you need to go home.”

Without a word, he turned to go, but not before daring another kiss from me. My aunt watched silently, and when he drove away, I walked inside with her and Jackson.

“Lake, I thought I made my feelings about him clear.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you approached him?”

“He is not the guy you think he is.”

Telling her that I knew exactly who Keiran was would only serve to make this night worse.

“Your parents were two of the gentlest people. It’s why I never understood why they picked the profession they did.”

“What do you mean?”

At age seven, I’d never thought they could ever be anything other than my mom and dad. To me, it was enough. After they had disappeared, I didn’t allow myself to think of them at all, much less how they earned a living.

“Angie and Thomas specialized in child abuse victims.” My throat tightened hearing their names while she paused as if weighing her words.

“Were they social workers?”

“No, honey. They weren’t social workers. They worked for the FBI. It was how they met.”

Stunned.

Shocked.

Silent.

All three words were able to describe how I appeared on the outside, but none came close to doing the justice of the emotions wreaking havoc inside me.

The FBI? My parents?

“How could my parents have worked for the FBI?” The little I could remember of them was so ordinary. Day by day, our life amounted to the same routine set and rehearsed by my parents.

“Your mother always had dreams of someday making a difference, and so the day she announced she had been accepted into the Academy, I knew she had found her calling.”

“What does this have to do with their disappearance?” Aunt Carissa got up to pour another cup of coffee, filling the gray and orange tomcat mug to capacity with the hot espresso liquid.

“The summer they left you here wasn’t because of a vacation. It was a setup. They were going undercover to bring down a child slavery ring that managed to elude the federal government for quite some time.”

I could already feel my heart pounding faster. This couldn't be the same. Fate wouldn't be that cruel.

“How do you know this? Aren’t federal investigations super secret?”

A sad smile spread her lips. “Your mother was never good at keeping secrets. Besides… she wanted to prepare for the future.”

“What happened to them?” It came out as more of a demand than a question. My mind was already connecting the dots, but I needed to hear it. Never in a million years would I have thought Keiran and my past were connected.

“Oh, Lake. Are you certain you’re ready to hear this? It doesn’t have to be now.”

I spoke around the painful lump lodged in my throat. “Yes, it does.”

Finding out my parents were FBI agents was the final blow to the very fragile memories I held of them. The meager leftovers crumbled and shattered when I realized it was all a lie.

She looked at Jackson and a silent message passed between the two. If I didn’t know before, I knew now something was going on between the two of them. Something more than an investigation.

When he nodded, seeming to give her the strength she needed, she started to speak.

“Mario Fulton is an ex-FBI agent who was let go on suspicion of corruption. He was assigned to investigate the disappearance of Liliana West. She was a little girl around your age at the time she was kidnapped.”

Oh, no… Lily.

“Mario was a part of the same division as your parents. He knew them well.”

“My parents were partners then?”

She shook her head and then wiped a tear away. “Your father was Mario’s partner.”

“What?” My breathing slowed to single harsh breaths.

“He was the one to raise suspicion against Mario after he uncovered evidence of a child slavery ring. But when that evidence started disappearing, and the organization became harder and harder to track, he began to suspect Mario.”

“But why?”

“It was agreed between them that one of them would infiltrate and one of them would hang back as a backup just in case things went south. Mario volunteered to be the mole.”

I nodded and then asked, “Where does my mother come into all of this?”

“When your father reported Mario, he was suspended until further evidence could be found that he was dirty. After that, he went rogue. When your father had enough to implicate him and find the man behind the child abductions, he offered to bring him in. Your mother didn’t want to leave him at the mercy of another untrustworthy partner, so she went with him.”

I was already crying, but I didn't feel my tears as my body numbed from every piece of the story that came together.

Mario was the one to kill my parents. I just knew it.

“How did it happen?”

“I don’t think—”

“Just tell me! Please.” My voice trembled as my world spun on its axis.

My answer came swift and brutal. It was Jackson who spoke for the first time. “They were gunned down.”

Chapter Thirty

Keiran

I stood above them, still and silent, as I listened to her cries. I felt every tear she shed through my bleeding heart. I knew hearing about her parent’s death would destroy her. She avoided it for too long.

After they went inside and I drove off, I parked down the street and double-timed back to her house. I climbed the tree that stood near her window and broke through the window. I dislodged the lock a few months ago when I was intent on using her for revenge.

I sat and waited for hours, clutching the banister while they attempted to console her, and in those hours, I plotted her revenge. Around midnight, she finally had enough and broke away from them while I quickly disappeared inside her bedroom to wait.

When she entered the dark bedroom, her eyes immediately found mine, and I could see the need in her eye. It was one that I was familiar with thought it was the first time I’ve witnessed it on her.

“Do it, Lake.”

She took the invitation and was across the room in a flash. I encouraged each blow to my chest and slap to my face as she silently screamed through her agony.

“Take it.”

She never let up. She never stopped seeking.

She needed an outlet. A way to release. I knew what it felt like to need to unleash your pain on someone. It would get pretty dangerous if it built up.

“Take what you need to get past the pain…”

I hit my chest indicating where she should strike, and she mimicked.