Page 72 of You Can Make Me

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Walter said. “It’s put up or shut up time, D. Can you handle the woo-woo?”

“Fuck off,” I said, but I was too worried to give it the humor we usually spit at each other.

I approached Dane and set my hands on the counter next to the board. “How does this work?”

“We ask a question and set the parameters. I know more now than I did. It’ll be better. What do we need to know?”

I exhaled. “What is Cooper’s tie to this carnival? He mentioned his grandfather and these people from Circus Circus that he met… Why is he so obsessed?”

Walter chewed on his thumb. “What’s up with his grandfather? Do you know anything about him?”

“Frank Harris, do you remember? He was a big-time national news correspondent.”

“Holy shit,” Walter said. “I do?—”

“He was on60 Minutes, right? I used to watch with Tess.”

“Cooper idolized him,” I said. “He said that in his dream, his grandfather is at the carnival, but can’t it be just that? A dream? How do we even know Evans is involved? How do we know he’s linked with Cooper at all?”

“We have to assume that Evans still had a link with Holland, which means he experienced Cooper’s attack vicariously. If he was fixated onmebecause I got away, you can bet he feels the same about Cooper.”

“And he’s going to use whatever he knows about Cooper to get his hooks into him, to make him do his bidding,” I assumed.

“We can’t let that happen.”

We exchanged looks, and I cleared my throat. “Junior, watch Cooper. Please. He’s…”

“I know, buddy. I’ll keep him safe.”

I locked eyes with Dane. “What do I do?”

He smiled weakly. I could tell he was reticent to dive back into this. He and Walter needed this mess to be over, too. None of us would be safe until Evans’ link was severed…or he was dead.

“Clear your mind. If you see anyone else, do not interact. Let me do the talking. Observe, gather what knowledge you discover, even if it seems meaningless. And don’t let go.”

“Got it.”

You need to do this. For Cooper. He’s counting on you.

Dane gave me a reassuring smile and held his hands over the planchette.”Ready?”

I gave him a curt nod. If I thought too much about it, I’d start making excuses and bail.

“When this is over, I’m kicking your ass, Junior.”

Walter laughed. “Can’t wait.”

I let out a breath and followed Dane’s movements. Our fingers touched at the same time—and I was instantly suspended in nothingness, as if I’d taken a dive off a cliff. There was no wind rushing at my face, no impending gravitational death, just…nothing.

Please. Let me help Cooper out of this mess. Make me what I need to be to protect him.

My feet hit the ground hard enough to send a jarring pain up my spine but I caught myself before I fell forward. I opened my mouth to call for Dane, but nothing happened. Including breathing. My lungs burned, as if I’d been under water too long, but I was dry as a bone.

An image appeared before me of circus tents, the backdrop of a sunset and rocky mountains.

A lanky young blond man stood at the gate, watching. He lifted his foot to step inside with a look of wonder, but he hesitated. His gaze was focused on a group of young peopledressed as…acrobats? One of them smiled at the blond, crooked their finger, and the blond smiled back.

Cooper.