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checked out the old Logandale spot, I would go to the Night Walker rebel camp at Cypress Crest and see Libby. I really was tired, and she was the best Builder I’d ever met. Plus, I missed her. The two months I’d been with Parker were the longest we’d gone without seeing each other since we were kids. It felt weird being apart like this.
    And, between Addie and Parker being together and the newest romantic developments between Mia and Finn, there was yet another reason I needed to get out of here. It was getting very … gooey lately.
    Although I had to admit it was almost worth it to watch Chloe around Addie and Mia. She would get a stiff spine and a wary look in her eyes every time they were nearby—it was like she was afraid those girls might accidentally touch her and make her soft.
    I’d tell her she could use a little softening, if she asked me—which was probably why she’d never ask.
    â€œWell, I’d better get going.” I looked at Parker through the window of the van. “I have my phone. Keep me updated and be careful.”
    He nodded reluctantly and took a few steps back.
    I waved at Finn and put the van in reverse. The vehicle was far from nice, but it belonged to me now—I’d secured it with fresh plates after I got back it from Mason. It felt like a better choice for this mission than my bike, since I didn’t know what or who I might need to bring back with me. Also, I could sleep in the backseat if it turned out Dad’s paranoia would make this quest long and complicated.
    Parker walked back up to my open window and I kept my foot on the brake. “So, three missing pieces, huh?”
    â€œYep.”
    â€œYou really think you can figure this out?”
    I let out a fast puff of air and the speedometer in front of me fogged. The tension from that one question tightened every muscle in my upper body. If we had the key to helping the Takers sleep—and survive, then there was hope they might come to an agreement with us. The Night Walker Society could finally be what it was intended to be when it was founded: a place of refuge for people who lived in a world of nightmares. A place to escape to a life worth living. It could be what Dad had always wanted it to be—what I still wanted it to be.
    â€œDad thought I could.” I swallowed hard and met my brother’s eyes.
    Instantly, my heart ached. While Parker had spent years getting used to the idea of never seeing Dad again, I’d only had a month … and the gaping hole Dad left didn’t seem to be healing very fast.
    â€œGuess his faith will have to be enough,” I added.
    Parker put his hand on my shoulder and gave it one final squeeze. “That’s good enough for me.”

Three
Jack
    It took an hour to get to Logandale and another half-hour to find the remote patch of land where the trailer was parked when Dad and I had lived here. That was shortly after Mom had died and he’d come back to Cypress Crest to get me. When he took me away from the rebel camp and brought me out to the middle of nowhere, I’d wondered what he was planning to do with me.
    I hopped out, grabbing the shovel from the passenger side. The brush on the land was wild, having gotten way past overgrown in the couple of years since I’d been here. One particular bush was still misshapen in the back from where I used to climb under it when Dad called out for me to hide. I could almost hear his barking order echoing across the open air, bouncing off the empty land: “Jack, now— GO .”
    It happened regularly. Sometimes someone was heading our way. Sometimes he just wanted to test me.
    Either way, I’d gotten very good at hiding.
    It felt so weird to be able to openly refer to Danny as my dad. I’d always known he was—it wasn’t ever kept a secret from me, but it was something we never shared with anyone else. He told some people that he was looking out for a