“Is this all you have?”

I nodded. Before I could slide out of the car completely, he came around and reached for my hand, finally pulling me into the hug I longed for. My throat tightened as I continued to fight the tears that were pricking my eyes, but there was no use. They spilled over and I started to cry against his shoulder. I felt safe for the first time in seventy-two hours. I was crushed hard against him, pressed into things that were hurting me, but I didn’t want to move.

This was Seth.

My Seth.

“Grandma called and said you never came home on your birthday,” he murmured into my hair. “I was trying to get some of the guys to cover my shifts so I could go down to help look for you.”

“I ran away,” I whispered.

“Come inside.” He kissed the top of my head before he reached for my hand and led me toward his apartment.

“Why are you mad at me?” I asked.

“I was surprised to see you.” He reached up and wiped a tear from my cheek.

“But you didn’t talk to me the whole way here.”

“I was thinking, Josie. I have so many questions, but it’s better if we talk in my apartment.” He nudged his head toward his car.

I didn’t know what he meant. Cameras? Audio? I let him lead me to his apartment. Once we entered, he set my bags down and I looked around the living room while he went to the kitchen. I finally smiled because this was definitely his apartment. A big screen TV hung on the wall across from a giant sectional couch. On the coffee table, empty beer bottles sat scattered, but what made me smile was that the picture that I kept in my purse of the three of us was framed and sitting on the end table next to the couch.

“Here.” He handed me a glass of water. “Sit and tell me what happened.”

I took the glass and looked at him for a beat. “Do … Do you have to be dressed like that?” He still looked like the Seth I remembered, only a little older. He had the same short dark brown hair that was almost black and the same sea green eyes. The only thing that had changed was the stubble from a lightly trimmed goatee that framed his perfect smile and teeth. And his body … well, he was a cop who worked the streets. I was sure his tight uniform covered a nice body.

“Josie.” He smiled.

“I ran away and you’re dressed like a cop.” I waved a hand in his direction.

“I am a cop.” He reminded me.

“Am I in trouble?” The question spilled from my lips before I knew it. I wanted to know because I wasn’t sure what my mother had told his grandma. I was a minor who had run away after all.

He looked straight into my eyes. I wanted to tear my gaze from his. I didn’t like that he was dressed in his uniform. I couldn’t take it. I had a feeling I was in trouble. If he wanted to take me back, I was going to beg him to let me stay. If he forced me to go back, I didn’t know what I would do.

“No.” He shook his head. “I’ll go change, but you need to tell me what really happened, okay?”

I swallowed. “O … Okay.”

When he returned, he was dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt. He looked more like my best friend than a cop interrogating me. He sat back down on the section of the couch diagonal from me. “Okay. What happened?” He reached for my hand and ran his thumb over mine.

“Cruella and I got into a fight and I left.” I shrugged.

He chuckled. “Joss, you didn’t run away because of a fight. You two fight all the time. What really happened? And how the hell did you get here?”

I looked up and met his sea green eyes. “What did your grandma tell you?”

He tilted his head a little. “She said your mom told her you didn’t return after dinner.” I gave a sarcastic chuckle. “What’s so funny?”

“Come on, Seth!” I stood out of anger, breaking our contact. “Who the hell was I supposed to have dinner with? You know Cat’s in Hawaii, she probably doesn’t even know I’m missing. I didn’t have dinner with anyone. Cruella told your grandma that, but I didn’t have any birthday dinner plans.”

“Grandma said she saw you get into a limo.”

And there was the swallow. It was, in fact, me swallowing my lie. “I went around the block while Cruella got ready for her date. She had a date on my birthday. You know she doesn’t care about me. When she got home, I left. I’d had enough. I can’t take her shit anymore, Seth. It was my birthday and she left in a limo to have a date. She didn’t even wish me a happy birthday.” More tears streamed down my face. Part of what I was saying was true and it still hurt.

He stood and wrapped me in his arms. “You can’t leave because you got in a fight. You’re seventeen. You need to go back and finish school.”

“I’ll stay here and get my GED.”

“You need to go back. If someone were to find out that you’re here—”

I pulled my head back. “What do you mean?”

“I’m a cop and there are laws. You’re seventeen. You have to be in school. And you ran away from home, Josie.”

“Like I said, I’ll get my GED.”

He took a deep breath. “Fuck, Joss. This isn’t good. Cruella’s gonna be pissed.”

“She’s not going to care.” Little did he know, she would. She was going to be livid. “You don’t even need to tell her I’m here. She’s probably happy I’m gone. One less mouth to feed.”

“I’m going to call Grandma and tell her—”

“No!” I shrieked and reached for his arm as he stepped away from me. I didn’t want him to call her. Before I could utter another word, his cell rang.

“It’s her.”

My heart stopped. I was screwed. I was one hundred and twenty-thousand percent screwed. This was the end of the road. He would tell her I was here, she’d tell Mother, and then I’d be on my way back to Miami to start my new career.

“Hey, Grandma, I have good news …What?” he exclaimed and my head snapped in his direction. My gaze met his. “Are you sure?” He ran a hand down his face. “Everything? … Boxes? … Bryce too?” I sat down on the couch. “Okay. Let me know if you find out anything else. Oh, right.” He smiled and I smiled back. This was a good sign. At least I thought it was. “Joss is here … Yeah. I’m not sure, but she is. She got into a fight with Maggie and ran away … I’ll take care of her until we find out. Okay, I’ll tell her. Love you, too. Bye.”

“What’d she say?” I asked as soon as he pressed a button on his cell.

“Your mom and brother are gone.”

“What do you mean gone?”

“They left with some guys.” I blinked at him, not saying anything. “Joss?”

“Are you sure?”

“Grandma went over to check and the door was unlocked. Everything was boxed up and gone.”

I didn’t know what to say. What did it mean? Why would Tony take them? And then it hit me like a ton of bricks:

“… you and your mother are going to pay.”

“What are you thinking about?”

I stopped swirling my straw in my iced tea and watched as Seth slid into the seat across from me. There was no way I was going to tell him that I was thinking about twelve years ago. He still didn’t know why I’d run away. After we’d found out that my mother and brother left, we’d waited a few days, but they never returned. In fact, Seth’s grandma told us the trailer was cleaned out and rented to a new family. She never saw them again. I never saw them again. I’d tried to search for them in our database but always came up short.

“Just a case.” I shrugged.

“You want to talk about it?” He smirked.