Page 65 of Our Darkest Summer

Beside me, Kevin shifted like he was about to step in. “Dad?—”

Isaac silenced him with a wave.

“I won’t ask how you know what is or isn’t in your mother’s file,” he said evenly. “Even better, let’s pretend I didn’t hear anything you just said.” His gaze flicked between me and Kevin. “For both of your sakes,” he continued, voice still calm, “but I don’t know why it isn’t there. It should be.”

I exhaled. The case file was suspiciously empty. If it was once there, then someone made it disappear. If we could find out who…

“Can you find out who turned her away?” I asked, and Isaac massaged the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

???

The Millers’ front door closed behind me and Kinsley. Connor decided to stay for dinner, and Kevin and Isaac promised to bring him home. Kinsley strode ahead, lost in her thoughts, and I jogged down the stairs following her. The street was quiet. Not just summer-night quiet, the kind filled with crickets and warm breezes, but hollow.

The car waited for us on the next corner, still where I parked it, under the dim glow of a streetlamp. I unlocked it, glancing over my shoulder.

Something felt off.

Kinsley’s nails dug into my arm, and I followed her gaze to the windshield. A scrap of white paper was tucked beneath the wiper.

I frowned, plucking it free.

“It’s different,” Kinsley mumbled, her voice barely a breath.

I nodded. The mannerisms were off, the handwriting not really the same… My eyes scanned the street, but it was empty. Still, the feeling of someone watching us lingered. Whoever had left this note knew this was my car.

My jaw tightened. “Get in.”

Kinsley didn’t hesitate. She slid into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut, and I did the same.

“They were right here,” she whispered, her breath uneven. “Right here.”

I gripped the wheel, my knuckles whitening.

Shit.I was scared too.

I inhaled slowly, trying to steady my pulse. I couldn’t afford fear.Not now.

The engine rumbled to life, but I hesitated, my fingers flexing against the leather.

Fuck.

“Are you okay?” Kinsley exhaled, and I sucked in the inside of my cheek, my eyes flickering at her.

“Are you?” I asked back, avoiding her question.

She didn’t answer, and the silence stretched.

My gaze fell to her lips. Red. Raw. Like she’d been biting them for days. Since when had she been this anxious? And how had I not noticed?

Neither of us moved.

The space between us felt different.Charged.With fear, and something else.

Kinsley licked her lips and my pulse skipped a beat. We were safe here, inside the car, weren’t we? The tension shifted around us, tightening. I should’ve looked away. Should’ve started the car. But instead, I stared at her mouth like I was back in the lake, drowning in her scent.

I swallowed.