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Alarms blare, and I run down the opposite side of the street. I’m not about to get caught for his crimes.

But it’s not just any man; it’s Caleb’s dad.That criminal!

I race after him. But he doesn’t slow. He must keep in shape for his nefarious purposes.

Only once we’ve turned down the next alley do I dare yell out to him.

“Hey, stop!”

Thane looks backward, startled. But he keeps running.

“I know who you are, Thane Harris.”

At this, he comes to a complete stop. He turns, eyes narrowed in on me like Caleb does. But where there’s love behind Caleb’s eyes, there’s none in his dad’s. Only a dangerous curiosity.

“How do you know my name?”

“I’m Caleb’s girlfriend. I came to find you.” I slow my steps, my voice coming out embarrassingly breathless.

At the sound of his son’s name, something shifts in Thane’s eyes. “Caleb? As inmyCaleb?”

“No offense, but he’s mine, not yours. You don’t deserve him.”

Amusement flicks across his eyes. “I won’t argue there.”

A cop car zooms by, the sirens wailing down the alley, and Thane turns to keep walking down the street, away from the place he just robbed.

“Don’t you want to know why I came to find you?”

“Not really.”

“Caleb wants to talk to you.”

He looks over at me but continues marching forward at an accelerated pace. “He said that?”

I glance both ways before crossing the street behind him. “Not in so many words.”

“Meaning he didn’t say that,” Thane scoffs.

“No, but I know he wants his father in his li—”

“No, he doesn’t.”

He has a point. But maybe this goes deeper. For me, at least. “Well, then maybe I want you to apologize. Maybe I want you to see the good man your son has become and feel bad about it. Maybe—”

He turns so abruptly I almost run into him. “Maybe I already do.”

I study his face. “Which one is it?”

Another cop car zooms by, and Thane mutters a curse. “It doesn’t matter right now. We need to get off the street. Where are you staying?”

I scoff. “Like I’d tell a criminal. I’ve already had one dead body in my tub. I don’t want to be the next one.”

He raises a brow. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to get you back safely before those cops come after us.” He taps on his phone and looks up at me two seconds later. “The Uber will be here in just a moment.”

“I’m not riding with you.”

“Okay, call yourself a car.”