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I wanted to reach for my phone to activate the damn explosion, but he kept attacking me. There was no time to rummage through my purse to turn on the phone. Dropping my purse, I used both hands to defend myself. I clawed at his eyes and his face, wanting to destroy all the expensive work he had done. I dug my nails in as much as possible, scratching his eyes.

He screamed but continued to attack me as if physical pain didn’t affect him.

I shouted. “Please help me!”

Laughing like a lunatic, he sprayed something in my eyes. For a moment, they burned, and I couldn’t see anything.

Something sharp pierced my stomach. Pain erupted as another stab penetrated me. I blinked, and everything lost focus. Even with the blurry image, I could gauge where he was. Though I was bleeding a lot, I charged at him, but my body didn’t have the strength. I dropped to the ground as pain crippled me.

“Hey! What’s going on?” someone shouted.

“She’s bleeding a lot, honey!”

A commotion followed, but I was in another world. Images of Mom, Dad, Kaylee, and Arrow floated in front of me like a movie.

Tears welled because I knew I was dying . . .

CHAPTERSIXTY-NINE

ARROW

After pickingup the food Vivian had ordered, I headed to the bakery. I checked my phone while waiting for the host to retrieve the cake from the back room.

My eyebrows furrowed as I read Vivian’s text. Fear overcame me. What was Ghost doing at her practice? A thought occurred to me, and I didn’t like it. Vivian had wanted me to punch him in the mouth, luring him to her dental practice. But why? What kind of surprise did she have for him? What had taken place at her office today?

A part of me wished she had told me earlier, but there was probably no time if he turned up suddenly.

I called Vivian, but her phone went to voicemail. Something awful stirred in me. I got the cake and rushed to my car.

I called Kaylee, but she didn’t answer either. Had something happened to her? I logged into the security tracker app on both the phones I’d given them. It showed Vivian was in Providence at a party store. Relief settled in me. Maybe she was shopping and didn’t hear my call. I’d call her back.

Kaylee’s location surprised me. What was she doing at the cemetery? Wasn’t the cemetery closed at this hour? Was she in trouble?

Fear gripped me as I sped to the cemetery. It was closed. I found off-street parking and hopped over the fence. Using my phone to track Kaylee, I made my way through the cemetery. It had been a long time since I’d visited this place. My mom and dad weren’t buried together. Mom had wanted her ashes sprinkled out in the sea. As for my father, I didn’t visit him as much as I should have. We had nothing to talk about, and if I visited him, all the painful memories would surface.

I spotted Kaylee in the distance, near a lamppost. She was wearing her backpack. Had she come here after Whiz Kidz? My chest tightened as an odd sensation rushed through me. Why was she standing right in front ofmyfather’s headstone? Confusion and surprise had me pausing in my steps.

Kaylee stared at the stone. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Why was she crying?

A squirrel rushed by me, and she glanced in my direction. Shock splashed onto her face. Her mouth dropped open but then closed. I approached and looked at her. Sadness swam in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” I placed a hand on her shoulder. “What’s going on?”

She turned to look at me with light brown eyes. “I just wanted to see him.”

Something quivered in my gut. “Who is he to you?”

Kaylee nodded. “He’s my father.”

Shock stiffened my spine. “Roger Holt is your father? Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Mom told me about him when I was younger. He didn’t know about me. She said she ended things before I was born. I started looking into him.” She cried and threw her arms around me.

Unsure of what to do. I held her as she released the pressure. I had so many questions. Was Kaylee my half-sister? I didn’t remember Dad bringing a girlfriend home. But I was hardly home.

A memory sparked in me. I had seen my father with an Asian woman when I was at Pam’s Diner. Men who looked like Triad members retrieved her. Was she Kaylee’s mom? Had she also been part of The Triad?

After a moment, Kaylee sniffled and drew back, and embarrassment flushed her face. “Sorry.”