“What is it, Jager?” I asked, spotting the dog by the kitchen door.
The German Shepard looked at me, then the door, then back at me as he whined again.
“You want outside?” I opened the door and followed him out into the cold.
He ran through the garage and into the side yard, pausing to squat over the patch of grass that had already been stripped of color. I heard a noise behind me and turned to see Tyler walk through the back door of the garage.
“Nick still sleeping?” he asked as he walked toward me.
“I imagine so,” I said, wrapping my robe tighter around me to keep out the frosty air. “I just woke up myself.”
“Jackson let the kids stay up for the full tournament. Didn’t finish until near one in the morning.” Tyler glanced over at me, checking my reaction.
“I’m okay with that.” We walked further into the driveway to watch Jager as he ran around the yard, stretching his legs. “The kids needed the tournament just as much as the adults. A break from our everyday serious life. And staying up past bedtime on occasion is part of the fun of being a kid.”
“Makes sense.” Tyler offered me a cigarette from his pack.
I shook my head no. “Who won the tournament?”
“Bones.” Tyler smiled broadly. “And Donovan took second place, but he’s not a happy camper.”
I inhaled Tyler’s second-hand smoke, enjoying the familiarity of the toxins. “It ended the way it should’ve then. In a few short years, Bones and Donovan will be pushed out by the younger guys. I’m glad they got to show off while they’re still in top shape.” I shivered, pulling the robe’s collar tighter against my neck.
“I suppose, but I’m not looking forward to listening to them brag for the next year.” He tipped his head toward the house. “Head inside and get warm. Jager can make the rounds with me.”
“Works for me. I’ll have a pot of coffee ready when you’re done making the circuit.”
Tyler whistled for Jager as I turned back to the kitchen door. Stepping inside, I found Charlie sitting at the breakfast bar, sipping a cup of coffee. She patted the chair next to her where another cup sat waiting for me on the bar top. As I walked around the counter to sit, I spotted her duffle by the front door.
“You’re leaving?”
Charlie set her cup down. “I have a flight out this morning. I’m heading back to Miami.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay a few more days? Thanksgiving is this Thursday.”
“I promised Aunt Suzanne I’d spend Thanksgiving with them. Besides, it’s time. I’m ready to go home.”
“Is that where home is for you? Miami?”
“I think so,” Charlie said. “I miss it. The heat. The sandy beaches. The dance clubs. Hell, I miss the odd smell of melted pavement and coconut oil.”
“You must be homesick,” I said, laughing. “You going back to the precinct? Going to wear the badge again?”
“I’m not sure. I’m officially still on leave for beating the snot out of my father—or rather my uncle, I guess.” She shook her head at the complexity of our family tree. Neither one of us had wrapped our heads around the discovery that we were sisters, not cousins. “They want me to have a psych eval.” She wrinkled her nose.
“Piece of cake. You only have to prove you’re not a danger to yourself or others.”
“Yeah, I know.” She stared off toward the kitchen, not looking at anything in particular.
“Then what’s the problem?”
She sighed, once again setting her coffee cup down. “You used to love Miami. We’d laugh… dance… go rollerblading... Or we’d sneak out to the beach in the middle of the night, lay in the sand, and talk for hours.” She shrugged, looking away. “Even after you adopted Nicholas, we found plenty of things to do as a family.” She glanced up at me, her eyes full of unshed tears. “It all changed after Nicholas was taken. I get why it had to, but I thought that when it was over, you’d come home.”
I set my own cup down and wrapped my arms around her. “I did, too. I really did. But that was a lifetime ago, Kid.” I rubbed circles on her back like I did when we were younger. “The thought of taking Nicholas back to that city… It scares the hell out of me.”
Charlie nodded, but remained silent.
“We’ll figure out a better way, okay? A better way for us to visit more often. And we can video chat each other. I don’t want us to drift apart either.”
She pulled away, sliding off her stool and standing. “Yeah. We’ll figure it out,” she said in a tight voice. She grabbed her bag and turned toward the door. Without looking back, she paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Kelsey?”
“Yes?”
“You’re the best sister a girl could ask for.”
My hand shook as I raised it to my chest, placing it over my heart. “Right back at ya, Kid.”
She left, closing the door behind her.
I felt the warm tears on my cheeks as I sensed Hattie walking up behind me. She wrapped both arms around me, but didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Her presence alone gave me the strength I needed not to chase after Charlie and beg her to stay.
Chapter Four
CHARLIE
Two Weeks Later… Saturday, 11:25 p.m.
The lights flashed and spun in wild circles as the heavy base of the music thumped the
