She didn’t hesitate to correct him. “It’s sick, Keiran.”

“That too.”

“So, what then?”

“I was corrupted. I was so far gone that nothing about it bothered me anymore. That lasted until Lily showed up. I’d hear many things from the other kids about their life with their parents, but I never bothered to get close to any of them. I either shut them out or shut them up, but Lily…

She fought everyone including me. She never let me ignore her and then she made me want to protect her, so I did. She was changing me. I was beginning to hesitate when I would train and punish the other kids for table scraps, didn’t seem like it was worth it anymore. It didn’t make sense until Mario drove away, leaving me with my uncle.

“What made sense?”

“That if it weren’t for Mario and my father’s greed, I never would have made it. Even after she died.”

“What do you mean?”

“I would have died, Lake. Lily was dead and no longer an influence, but she was already in my head. She was light and my conscious. I wouldn’t have been able to train and eventually they would have killed me.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Lake

We finished our dinner in stunned silence. He gave me a lot to process, but his past, as dark as it was, didn’t make me want him any less.

“What are you going to do about Mario and Arthur? Why haven’t you turned them in yet?”

“When Arthur made the deal with me, I convinced him that it would be safer to deliver him when school was over. If I brought him in sooner, it would raise his suspicions.”

“So you have to pretend nothing is wrong?”

He nodded but didn’t elaborate. “Do you want dessert?”

“I’m okay. Besides, it’s your birthday,” I smiled. He looked up in surprise. “We should get you cake.”

“I’d rather have you for dessert.”

His voice deepened, his eyes darkened, and I just knew if he could, he would take me right here.

Keiran paid for dinner, and we rode in silence back to Six Forks. It wasn’t until he pulled up to my house and walked me to the door that he spoke.

“Thank you for being my first Valentine.” He stole a kiss packed with emotion and desperation. I decided that sweet Keiran was so much more of a panty melter than brooding Keiran.

When he finally released me, I was about to say goodnight when the front door opened and Aunt Carissa stood in the doorway with Jackson.

I could tell by my aunt’s expression that she wasn’t happy, and considering what Keiran told me this morning, I knew exactly why. It only just occurred to me how much he truly risked by simply taking me to dinner tonight.

“Lake, we need to talk. Keiran, you need to go home.”

Without a word, he turned to go, but not before daring another kiss from me. My aunt watched silently, and when he drove away, I walked inside with her and Jackson.

“Lake, I thought I made my feelings about him clear.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you approached him?”

“He is not the guy you think he is.”

Telling her that I knew exactly who Keiran was would only serve to make this night worse.

“Your parents were two of the gentlest people. It’s why I never understood why they picked the profession they did.”

“What do you mean?”

At age seven, I’d never thought they could ever be anything other than my mom and dad. To me, it was enough. After they had disappeared, I didn’t allow myself to think of them at all, much less how they earned a living.

“Angie and Thomas specialized in child abuse victims.” My throat tightened hearing their names while she paused as if weighing her words.

“Were they social workers?”

“No, honey. They weren’t social workers. They worked for the FBI. It was how they met.”

Stunned.

Shocked.

Silent.

All three words were able to describe how I appeared on the outside, but none came close to doing the justice of the emotions wreaking havoc inside me.

The FBI? My parents?

“How could my parents have worked for the FBI?” The little I could remember of them was so ordinary. Day by day, our life amounted to the same routine set and rehearsed by my parents.

“Your mother always had dreams of someday making a difference, and so the day she announced she had been accepted into the Academy, I knew she had found her calling.”

“What does this have to do with their disappearance?” Aunt Carissa got up to pour another cup of coffee, filling the gray and orange tomcat mug to capacity with the hot espresso liquid.

“The summer they left you here wasn’t because of a vacation. It was a setup. They were going undercover to bring down a child slavery ring that managed to elude the federal government for quite some time.”

I could already feel my heart pounding faster. This couldn't be the same. Fate wouldn't be that cruel.

“How do you know this? Aren’t federal investigations super secret?”

A sad smile spread her lips. “Your mother was never good at keeping secrets. Besides… she wanted to prepare for the future.”

“What happened to them?” It came out as more of a demand than a question. My mind was already connecting the dots, but I needed to hear it. Never in a million years would I have thought Keiran and my past were connected.

“Oh, Lake. Are you certain you’re ready to hear this? It doesn’t have to be now.”