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Like my father had never been for my mother.

He smiled when he saw me. I ran to him and buried myself in his warmth. It was strange, the way my body sought him, but I had already accepted I was strange with him, a good kind of strange.

“How do you feel?”

“Like the world is exploding, and I can only fucking watch.” The problem was, I had never liked watching from the sidelines.

He walked me to my car, opening the door for me.

“How’s Trish doing?”

“She looks completely broken. Pale, destroyed, and the fear in her eyes…” I trailed off as Ryden started the car. “God!”

I rubbed my head.

“I can’t believe there’s a witness now. Do you still think it’s Tany’s sister?”

“Yeah. I do. I can’t prove it yet, but something doesn’t sit right.” I paused, staring out at the disappearing trees. “The more I hear about her, the more I believe it’s her. I met someone who was at the orphanage when I was there. His name was Kurt. He told me… Patricia loved me. Loved me.”

“Loved you?” Ryden’s eyes widened. “Loved, loved?”

“Apparently. And some of the girls from the orphanage knew it and bullied her for it. I don’t know. I think Sister Colette might know more about that. Sister Mary Elizabeth was very new back then.”

“Sometimes kids are too cruel,” he said, starting the car. “How are you feeling about all of this?”

“Like I’m slowly drowning,” I said. “Like I don’t know what to do with any of it.”

I always knew what to do with feelings and emotions. I always dealt with everything precisely. But this… this was far from precise. This was too out of control.

Ryden placed a hand on my thigh, his thumb tracing slow, soothing circles. His touch anchored me, even as the rest of me felt like I was slipping under.

I just had to hold on to this feeling.

“I’m right here to pull you back out,” he murmured. “Just tell me when.”

I smiled.

“Oh, and another thing. Detective Hall came to meet me. She is digging into Victor and Leo…” I hesitated, watching his face.

Ryden grunted.

“What if she went to meet Millicent Wark? She would lead Nia Hall right to you.”

“Shit,” Ryden said. “But as long as she hasn’t, we will be fine.”

“You made a big mess, Turtle Mocha. If I hadn’t been so fond of you, I’d punish you for this.”

“You can still punish me,” he said with a dirty grin. “You can punish me anytime you want.”

I parked the car in front of a quaint white house. I rang the doorbell and waited, looking around the almost dark yard. There were potted vegetables, and no flowers. Sister Colette had always been a pragmatic woman with a mean streak.

We feared her.

If she had caught me instead of Sister Serena, she would have handed me to the cops without a second thought.

After a few minutes, a woman opened the door.

“Sister Colette?”