“Of course, I don’t want to kill your family. I’d much rather negotiate. It might surprise you, Carly, but I’m a nonviolent sort of man.”

“Naturally.” My head is spinning. Negotiate. What is there to negotiate? What do I have that he wants? He already has all of my money. Every dime. He has my family. He knows where Julio lives; he can get the address from my driver’s license, even if he doesn’t already know. I have nothing left to interest the man.

Then the answer pops into my head. The answer’s face. The answer’s lips. The answer’s smile.

Arden.

My blood drains down to my feet. To the very tips of my toes.

The sheriff nods. “You’ll stay away from my boy. You’ll never see him again. You’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he stays away from you. Break his heart, whatever. What’s more, you’ll never speak a word of this to anyone. Ever. In exchange, I’ll pretend this never happened. Any of it. You’ll walk out of here a free young lady. The charges disappear. Your family will arrive as expected. They’ll never be deported again.”

He makes it all sound so simple. It’s just that I’m in love with his son.

“And Julio?” I can barely whisper.

“Julio? Are you asking if Julio gets to live? I told you, I’m nonviolent—”

“Save us both time and answer me.” I feel like the life has been sucked out of my body and all that’s left is a hull of something that used to float around Arden.

The sheriff seems to sense his victory. He leans back, folding his hands behind his head. “Julio will be none the wiser.”

The tears flow freely now. I don’t care about this man’s expectations of me. I’ve lost a limb. A lifeline. My heartbeat. “You have a deal.”

Twenty-Four

Arden paces the six-by-four-foot interrogation room two strides at a time, waiting for his father, waiting for word on Carly, waiting for anything besides this vexing silence. The only noise in the room is his own cussing, and that’s toward himself.

If he had an iota of common sense, he wouldn’t have pressured Carly to go. He’d already noticed that she wasn’t herself; he should have taken that as a sign to back down. He should have made her talk about it, even though she can be more ill-tempered than a stump full of fire ants when pushed.

But what gets to Arden the most is that Carly has been right about him from the start. She’s the one going down for this, not him. She’s the one waiting minute after torturous minute to see how badly she’s screwed up her life by listening to him. All he’s waiting for is to find out when he’ll be sent home, how long it will be before his father wipes the slate clean for him. All while Carly catches charges. Real charges that could change her life.

He presses his forehead against the cold cinder-block wall. This whole time, she’s the one who shouldered all the risk. He had nothing to lose. She had everything. Her grades. Her relationship with her brother. Her two jobs that she absolutely needs. She risked it all. And he let her.

I’m such a selfish jackass.

Arden checks his watch. It’s been two long hours since they were hauled to the station. Two hours he’s been separated from Carly. Two hours his father has had to break her down.

He’s ready to pull his hair out when the door opens.

His father closes the door behind him wearing a grim expression.

“What did you do to her?” Arden says immediately. “If I find out—”

“Sit down, son,” his father says quietly. This is worse than screaming. This calm and controlled speech is how he used to talk about Amber after she died. “Carly is fine, for now. We have a lot to discuss, you and I.”

Arden sits. Something is off. Way off.

His dad sighs, as if the weight of the universe lies on his massive shoulders. Arden wants to strangle him, but at the same time shake him and make him talk. “I’m afraid your little girlfriend has been keeping some secrets from you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t I recall her one visit to the house wherein you told me her parents were dead?”

“She was about to tell me about that. Before we got pulled over.”

“I doubt she was about to tell you all of it.”

Arden hates the self-satisfied grin on his father’s face. “You don’t know anything about it.”

The sheriff chuckles. “Here’s what I know, son. Carly’s charges don’t end with your little escapade tonight. She’s being charged with trying to smuggle her illegal immigrant parents over the border. Her brother, Julio? He’s in on it too. They’re both in a lot of trouble, Arden.”

Arden buries his face in his hands. Oh no. This is what she was going to tell me. This is what she was risking.

And I’ve ruined it all for her.

“Dad, please. Don’t do this.”

“Don’t do what, exactly?”

“I know you can make this go away. I know you’ve got your connections. Make this go away for Carly.”

Slowly, the sheriff nods. “I suppose I could, couldn’t I?” He leans forward, folding his hands on the table. Arden wonders if this is how he interrogates other suspects. Eerily poised, like a rattler about to strike. Do they cave? Will I?

He thinks of Carly then, of all the balls she has in the air right now dropping to the ground and scattering. Her parents. Julio. Her job at the café, at the Breeze. School, her scholarships. She was right. She was risking everything. Arden swallows. “What do you want from me?”