Tyson walks out and I stand straighter, expecting Dad to follow.

“You can go in,” the cop tells me.

But I can’t move.

The walls close in, pulling into razor-sharp focus the one thing I see at the end of the hallway.

No, the one person.

Marco emerges and stands next to Tyson, his shoulders rounded and head hanging. Tyson unlocks the door to another interrogation room, and ushers Marco inside.

They arrested him.

That’s why Marco wasn’t answering the phone.

I did it all for nothing.

My knees buckle and I stumble.

“Are you okay?” The cop catches my elbow.

Do I need a glass of water? Or something to eat? When I don’t respond he gives up and leads me into the room. He pulls out a chair for me, but I sit on the floor instead, with my knees pulled up against my chest.

I did everything right … and Marco still ended up here.

Was there another job I didn’t know about? Or did my father decide to charge Marco?

It all hits me at once, and my eyes well up.

Handlebar Mustache comes in. “Your dad is tied up, but he should be finished soon.”

Tied up? Is that code for ruining my life?

It feels like forever before Dad walks in, his shoulders slumped and the scruff along his jaw unshaven. I don’t look at him. He broke our deal, and I’ll never forgive him.

Dad stands across from me and leans against the wall.

“Why is Marco here?” My voice sounds like ice.

“I’ll answer your questions about Marco after you tell me what happened tonight.”

He’s probably lying, but I need to tell him about Deacon.

“Deacon Kelley killed Noah.” It’s the first time I’ve actually said it out loud.

“How do you know?”

I dig my nails into my palms and keep going. “The flashbacks were happening more often, and every time I remembered a little more about that night. The other day I heard Deacon say something—exactly the same way he said it the night he killed Noah. I guess it triggered my memory. It all came back to me, every detail—what Deacon was wearing, the things he said, even the look on his face. He was trying to steal Noah’s dad’s car. That’s how it started.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Dad walks over and bends down next to me.

Because I can’t trust you.

He won’t like my answer, but I’m not worried about his feelings. “Deacon threatened Marco. He wanted Marco to steal a car from the country club tonight and deliver it to the dock, but Marco backed out of the job. Deacon blamed me. He said if I didn’t drive the car, he would pin everything on Marco—including things Marco didn’t do. After what Deacon did to Noah, I believed him. And I knew what you thought of Marco, so I had to do something. I couldn’t let him go to jail.” I look at my father. “But Marco still ended up here.”

“How did you know where to pick up the Gullwing?”

“Deacon didn’t tell me anything about the car ahead of time. A valet at the country club named Brian gave me the keys. I drove it out of the Heights with Deacon, and he told me where to go. I thought we were going to the docks, but he said the cops were tailing Marco and the plan had changed. I don’t know where he was trying to take me. That’s why I crashed the car.”

“You crashed the car on purpose?” The color drains from his face.

I describe the details and Dad cringes. When I get to the part about Deacon chasing me, he goes ballistic.

“Do you have any idea how lucky you are? He could’ve killed you. And if you had hit those barrels too fast or from the wrong angle…” My father shakes his head and scrubs his hands over his face. “You risked all this because you thought I would believe Deacon Kelley?”

I sit up straight and look my father in the eye. “Are you saying you wouldn’t have believed him?”

“I’m a cop, Frankie. I don’t take the word of a convicted felon without investigating.”

“After the deal you offered me, I wasn’t willing to take that chance. You’re wrong about Marco. You can’t see it, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Sometimes people do the wrong thing for the right reason.”

“Come with me.” Dad stands and motions toward the door.

Is he taking me to see Marco?

I follow, but when Dad starts to open the door, I block his path. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me why you arrested Marco.”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Dad opens the door, and I step into the hallway. Tyson is standing at the other end with Marco.

Marco freezes as if he can’t believe I’m real.

I forget about Dad and the deal, and the fact that we’re in the middle of a police station, and I run straight into his arms. Marco catches me around the waist and buries his face in my neck. “You’re here because of me, aren’t you?” I ask.

Marco pulls back and looks at me. “Yes.”

CHAPTER 42

THE HARDEST THING

“You said a cop’s daughter and a car thief can’t be together.” Marco wipes away the tears under my eyes. “That’s why I’m not a car thief anymore.”

“I don’t understand.” He’s not making sense.

“I turned myself in this morning. I tried to text you.”

That’s why his phone kept going straight to voice mail—he was here.

I look at Dad for confirmation, and he nods. “It’s true. Marco gave us all the information we needed on the guy he works for and his operation. I guess sometimes people do the right thing for the right reason, too.”

“But you could go to jail.” I can barely say the words.

Marco nods. “It’s a chance I’m willing to take. Miss Lorraine is going to take care of Sofia.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you, and I don’t want to be that guy anymore.”

I turn to my father. “Can I talk to Marco alone?”

He holds open the door to the closest interrogation room. “Ten minutes.”

When the door closes, I bury my face in Marco’s chest, and the familiar scent of leather and citrus calms me. The story about Deacon tumbles out in bits and pieces, between tears and kisses.

Marco’s arms tighten around me. “I’m so sorry, Frankie. What he did to Noah…” He tenses. “Deacon could’ve killed you.”