Zac's amber eyes darted briefly in my direction before returning to the road. "Should I be worried, babygirl?"

I didn't mince words. "Yes."

"Well, fuck."

"Yeah."

He glanced at me again at a red light. My man looked worried. "So? What is it?"

"Don't freak out, okay? I'm only deciding to tell you this because it'll be important to keep in mind once we start combing through Mr. Sinclair's files."

"Uh-huh..."

I bit my lower lip in hesitation. "You should also keep in mind that everything I'm about to tell you came straight from Lily's mouth tonight, so I haven't found a chance to confirm any of it yet."

Zac sighed. "Okay, so it's probably all mind games and bullshit. Got it."

"Well, we don't know that for sure, right?"

He groaned. "Shit, Cate! Just spill already! You're killing me here."

I blurted everything out in one breath, "Lily told me that my dad might have worked with her dad to put your dad in prison."

I hadn't meant to be so direct about it, but I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get it out any other way.

Zac paused. His hands clenched the steering wheel as he whistled in disbelief. "Wow."

"Is that all you have to say?"

He grumbled, "Patience. I'm still processing."

Anxiety ate at me. I had no idea what was going through his mind at the moment and that alone freaked me out. I waited for him to respond.

Finally, he spoke up again. "To be honest, I don't remember my dad ever bringing up your dad's name in our conversations. I know your dad works for the FBI, so I'm not saying it's impossible, but it seems unlikely. Lily's probably messing with you. I feel like we should be more concerned about what she's up to instead of what your dad might have done."

"I agree, Lily can't be trusted," I replied seriously, "but I didn't get the impression that she was telling me this stuff on purpose. I was actually the one going after her with these questions, and she just let this shit slip out."

"What do you think we should do, then?"

I brooded for a moment. What I wanted to do was to verify whether or not my dad played a hand in Mr. Mazur's arrest. My pulse quickened. It was unnerving to analyze the man as an actual unctioning human being with a complex set of motives outside of the cold, taciturn persona he presented to my half-siblings and I.

When I was younger, my dad existed in my imagination as a terrifying, unyielding figure who wielded an infinite amount of authority over my life. Once I grew older, however, I learned to distance myself from him. I told myself that a heartless, absentee parent couldn't hurt me as long as I didn't care about him. I learned to compartmentalize his role in my life as a mere sperm donor. A soulless entity who would provide me with food, water, and shelter until I came of legal age. Then, we would each go our separate ways, never to cross paths ever again.

In this sense, my dad and I had never been close. I considered myself to be well adjusted to his detached style of parenting. The man shouldn't have been able to get under my skin, but, in that moment, my resentment for him intensified once I thought about just how much more effort he probably invested into his career compared to how little effort he put into me, his own fucking daughter.

"Well," I mused bitterly, "there's only one way to find out for sure. I have access to my dad's study. He's in DC until next Thursday, so we won't be able to get our hands on his work laptop, but he has a desktop that he always keeps at home. You up for another hack job tonight, baby?"

Zac's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Fuck, no! Your dad will kill me if I get caught! He works for the motherfucking FBI, Cate! I'm not risking his wrath over something stupid that Lily said."

"Are you scared of my dad?" I taunted.

"Uh... yes? I'm pretty sure he hates me," he responded without pause, "and I kinda wanna keep dating his daughter, so I gotta be on my best behavior, yo. "

I scowled. "No, baby, you don't have to do shit. My dad's an asshole. I don't care what he thinks. Neither should you. If he's guilty of anything even remotely related to your dad's case, then I wanna know about it. Honestly, I wouldn't shed a tear if he ended up behind bars."

Zac snuck an uneasy look in my direction. He was smart enough not to say anything. Quite unexpectedly, I had fallen into a fucking mood without meaning to. Maybe the night's events were finally catching up to me, I wasn't really sure, but, out of nowhere, the space inside Zac's BMW suddenly felt too small to contain my emotions.

No matter how desperately I tried to force it away, the harrowing, vacant lifelessness in Mamma's gaze kept flashing before me. Shudders and chills ran through me every time her final moments on earth replicated itself in my mind. She had been facedown, alone, and utterly defenseless. My breaths grew short and stunted. I felt cold and frightened and nauseous all at once.

"Baby?" Zac asked in a strained tone. Keeping his left hand on the wheel, he reached over with his free hand. He entwined his fingers with mine. "You okay, baby?"

"I don't feel so good. I think I might puke."

"We're almost at your house. Five more minutes. Can you hang on? Or do you need me to pull over?"

"I can make it," I moaned with some difficulty.

With a look of determination, Zac stepped on the gas. His engine roared to life as we sped down the streets at twenty then thirty miles per hour over the speed limit. He swerved into my driveway. My stomach lurched painfully. The moment he parked his BMW, I unfastened my seatbelt and stumbled out to some nearby hedges in our front yard.

Zac rushed over, using one hand to stroke my back and the other to help me hold my hair away from my face. I gagged and heaved and retched, emptying out everything inside me until I could barely stand. His arm locked around my waist, strong and steady. I leaned on him for support. We stood like that for a few minutes as I tried to regain my senses.

"Feel better?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," I croaked in a weak whisper. I took a step and nearly tripped as I headed for the entrance of my house.

Zac rushed to my aid again, catching me in his arms just in time. He helped me to my door. "Whoa! Not so fast, Cate, I got you."

We shuffled up my front porch. As I fumbled for my keys, I suddenly turned to him with a shaken expression. "Baby?"

"Yeah?"

"I-I don't wanna be alone tonight."

His eyes flickered in the dark. He coughed nervously. "Did you want me to stay over tonight? Here? With you?"

I stared at him beseechingly and nodded. "Please."

"Okay," Zac murmured as his handsome face grew taut with emotion. "I'm not going anywhere, babygirl."

Without another word, I clasped his hand and pulled him through the doorway. Defeat hung over me like a suffocating cloud. My heart ached as though it was being tortured inside a needle-like vice, and my mind kept short-circuiting in chaotic loops, but, as I led Zac through the foyer and up the stairs to my room, I couldn't help noticing how warm and alive his hand felt in mine.

It made all the hurt feel more bearable.