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“The next time I fly up to Providence, I’d like to meet her and thank her.” She leaned against the kitchen island, staring at something on the table, thinking. “I’ll never forget that day. Yolanda and I were barely hurt in the accident. Anita took the hit for us.”

“And you took care of us.” I wrapped an arm around Grandma.

She rested her head on my shoulder. “It’s the least I could do for my daughter-in-law. It was just bad luck for us. When the EMT got me out of the wreckage, I saw a Good Samaritan holding your mom’s hand. The tears in her eyes told me your mom was gone. It comforts me to know she had an angel beside her when she left this world.” She lifted her head and looked at me square in the eye. “You must find Kiera.”

“I will.” That was a vow to myself and the universe.

CHAPTERFORTY-ONE

FORREST

As I left Grandma’s apartment, Hank called me. “Can y-you come over? I have something to show y-you.”

The stuttering told me he was stressed about something. Though he had improved from when I first met him, he still needed a lot of time to recover.

When I got to Hank’s cabin, he showed me a plastic bag filled with pills. I held a pill between my fingers and examined it. It was circular, reminding me of painkillers I could get over the counter at the drugstore. But I didn’t recognize it.

“Where did you find this?”

His shoulders slumped. “I wanted to h-help find Kiera, so I went to the d-dumpster. Part of her luggage wasn’t d-damaged from the f-fire. The bag of pills was in a small makeup b-bag.”

My eyebrows furrowed, wondering who could’ve hidden it there.

“Thank you.” I looked over at him. “We’ll find her. I don’t want you risking your life, though. She wouldn’t want that. If you see something out of the norm, discuss it with me first, okay?”

He nodded. “Dumpster is gone now. The truck removed it today.”

“See anything on the recordings?”

He shook his head. “Just raccoons, rabbits, squirrels running around.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I find Kiera.” I tapped his shoulder and left with the bag of pills.

I could have brought the pills to my lab at Holistic Farm, but I needed to dedicate my time looking for Kiera and focus on the banquet tomorrow. Any scientist could decipher these pills for me. I also had to research those aliases to prepare for any unexpected encounters. What if an elite member came up to me to ask an astrological question? I didn’t want my ignorance to ruin everything.

I made a call to a friend at a local pharmaceutical research laboratory and asked for a favor. What were these pills? Once I knew what it was, then I’d know its value.

Was the person who had burned down the cabin trying to destroy theevidence or retrieve it?

CHAPTERFORTY-TWO

KIERA

My body felt icy one minute and hot the next. I curled into the blanket and then kicked it off. I could tell my body was fighting something, and it was exhausting me. All I wanted to do was sleep.

I’d dreamed of Forrest just now, and sadness overwhelmed me. God, I missed him. Was my mom feeling better? What were my friends doing right now? Did they know I was missing? I hoped my mom and my friends didn’t know. It would stress them out.

Voices echoed from outside my door. I didn’t dare move because someone could be watching me. So I closed my eyes and concentrated on the voices. I made out Bo’s voice and a woman’s voice. They were whispering about something, but I couldn’t hear them.

A blast of cold air came through the vents. I could tell from the noises the vents made. A sweet fragrance snuck up my nose and before I could focus back on the conversation, I’d fallen back into a deep sleep.

CHAPTERFORTY-THREE

FORREST

The following day, my emptiness and anxiety were only worse as there was still no news on Kiera. The whirlwind of emotions paralyzed me on so many levels. I’d almost brushed my teeth with soap instead of toothpaste. My mind and body were two detached items instead of working together as one entity.

Keep yourself together. Kiera needs you.