And with how it was going, it was sounding like they’d be staying for a bit.

  North negotiated with the old man about doing the work for free so they could learn chimney masonry. It made it sound like Brian was doing them the favor.

  “But if you want to contribute to the materials,” North said, “I’m good with that, too.”

  Brian’s eyes glazed over a little, thinking deeply. “Well, there’s not much to offer.”

  North sniffed shortly. “I probably have a lot of it myself. Leftover materials. Might just need the mortar.”

  “Is that still about two dollars a bag?” he asked.

  North nodded. “I imagine. I can show you—”

  “Want to take a trip to the hardware store?” The old man motioned to North’s vehicle. “We can go get the materials now. Keep them here. Should be able to fit them into the barn.”

  “I like the barn,” Silas said, finally saying something as he’d been standing by. He gazed out at the old building, where the base of it had rotten enough to make holes, and the vertical wood board siding was aged, darkened, and warped. “Can you give me a tour? Show me where we can store the supplies?”

  North coughed once to redirect the attention back to him. “We should make sure those thieves aren’t going to come back and steal the stuff. Is there a room with a lock there? Also, maybe we can repair the barn, too. Is it leaning to one side?”

  Silas continued to urge Mr. Sorenson out to show him the barn. Brian didn’t seem eager about taking the walk down the hill to it, but he eventually strolled down with Silas, pointing and directing him on how to get the front of the barn open.

  He didn’t seem lazy. He was just older. Probably had aches and pains. Stuff some medicine would probably help but he refused to get medical attention. He moved slow, didn’t exert himself. The last couple of days were probably more excitement than he was used to. They’d have to go easy on him.

  Was Brian crazier before? Like when Sang’s mom was around?

  The only question he had was how Sang ended up in the custody of her father. It seemed like a last resort option at first, but there were other relatives here. Sang’s grandmother for instance. Where was she?

  They’d have to visit her and find out.

  North pulled Gabriel aside and spoke to him while Silas kept Sang’s grandfather busy.

  “As of now, no one is leaving the farm for too long,” North said. “If you leave him alone, and they come back, he’s as good as dead.”

  Gabriel lowered his head solemnly. Sang hadn’t come back out. He imagined she needed some alone time after everything that happened today. He wanted to go be with her but there was so much to do. “Sang and I are supposed to be looking for work in town and moving along soon. So we can’t just stay forever...”

  North turned his body toward the big white house, gazing at. “I don’t know what will happen, but we might need you to pretend to need to stay for longer.”

  “Shouldn’t we ask Sang?” Gabriel asked, but he knew the answer.

  North’s eyes darkened. “We wouldn’t still be standing here right now if the answer wasn’t yes, to help him out, adoption, etc. This was way more than we expected out of this trip. He needs immediate help.”

  “Does this compromise her ghost bird status?” Gabriel asked. “Especially if he finds out who she is?”

  “I don’t know. Her having a stepmother and father that don’t want her but know she exists doesn’t seem to be an issue.” North pointed fingers at his own chest and frowned deeply. “But how are we supposed to take this man’s photos of a granddaughter he lost if he has any? How do we hold back if he’s severely missing his granddaughter and would like to know if she’s still alive? I couldn’t do that to him. And if I know Sang, if it seems like it’ll give him any amount of happiness, as crazy as he is, she just might reveal who she is.”

  Gabriel’s heart sunk. “Does that mean it’s over? For her?”

  “Not for the Academy,” he said. “But maybe for us...”

  Gabriel blinked rapidly, more out of shock at what he was saying. “What are you talking about? I’m not leaving her.”

  “You’d leave Pam?” he asked in a steady, cautious tone.

  “You’d go back without her?” Gabriel snapped at him. “Fuck you if you think I’d ever...”

  North suddenly squared his shoulders in a stance that Gabriel had only seen a handful of times, and each of those times had been in a brawl.

  “Watch your mouth,” he said in a very deep, growling tone.

  It was too late. Gabriel’s blood was boiling now, and he spit out a slew of curses aimed right at North’s face. “Don’t you come here telling me what to fucking do here. You haven’t seen...” Gabriel tried to control himself, but he couldn’t. Words continued to come out but it was every foul word he’d ever heard in his life. He was too angry at North for even thinking about if Gabriel would be forced to choose between Pam and Sang.

  Gabriel knew the answer and he hated the answer.

  Maybe it was more the stress of the last few days talking, but Gabriel was desperate. Desperate to hold on to Sang, and to his own family, and to stop this insane amount of suffering he was seeing in everyone around him. There was no reason for Sang to hide who she was from this old man, who was alone and insane and clearly abandoned by his other family members. His son popped off when just talking to him. The old man was hotheaded, too.

  But did that mean he deserved to be alone?

  Seeing Sang’s face when she was in that room. Her mother’s room.

  They couldn’t leave. Not yet. Maybe never. If Sang ever told her grandfather who she really was, which she had every right and reason to do, it would be over. He’d want her here likely. Maybe. And she’d want to stay, at least close by. Gabriel couldn’t imagine Brian would want to leave the old family farm to up and go to South Carolina.

  Sang’s ghost bird status might be over before she started.

  And it hurt, because it was exactly what Mr. Blackbourne had thought would happen, and Gabriel had practically promised him it would never happen.

  Mr. Blackbourne knew better. He knew before they ever left.

  Without a word, while Gabriel still spewed words out of his mouth without much meaning other than curses, North turned away, walking downhill toward the barn. Without a single word.

  It was as if he’d slapped Gabriel right in the face.

  North never did that. Not when he was angry like that. North talked things out. North argued to figure out a solution. He never backed off.

  Gabriel stared off after North. Normally when North walked away, it was because he didn’t care. But this felt different. This wasn’t like him at all.

  Was this over? Did he not have a solution so he walked away?

  It was already happening.

  Lines were starting to be drawn.

  And who was Gabriel to ask them to uproot everything to Kentucky for Sang’s sake?

  Could Kota leave his mother and sister behind? And why would he come all the way here? It was hard enough when he’d been talking about moving into the new townhouses they’d gotten.

  Victor couldn’t come. Not for a while at least. He was still on probation.

  Luke... If North didn’t leave, would Luke stay here with Gabriel?

  Circumstances beyond their control brought them all together.

  And more of life’s circumstances might just break them apart for good.

  We'll Figure It Out

  Sang

  At some point when I’d gotten word out to Dr. Green about what happened and I was alone in the back room for so long, I crawled into bed. I didn’t even think I’d go to sleep at all. So much had happened.

  Yet, I passed out the moment I hit the pillow. I must have needed it. After, I remained awake and still, and listened to the house, learning how it sounded.

  Listening out for those thieves to return, but because North and the others were nearby, it was different now. We’d handled them before. Was it likely those robbers would be back? Not if they thought my grandfather had backup. At least not too soon.

  The afternoon sun on the room in the back of my grandfather’s house warmed up. Yet I was comfortable.

  Comfortable in a way I hadn’t been in a long time. Sure, with the guys, I felt safe, but we were always in some world of danger. We still lived in places where Volto watched us. Where parents who didn’t understand tried to help... or hurt... us at any point. Where principals were trying to get at us so we wouldn’t discover their secrets.

  And yet here, there was none of it. Just my grandfather, who was a little unstable. And Gabriel seemed to like his uncle and his family here.

  There were thieves who came by, but... We had faced off with Volto. A few thieves who were scared of a dog, that seemed easy enough to manage. I knew the guys likely got license plate information. Run those plates... finding out who they were would be so easy.

  It was amazing how with the Academy behind us, we could do so much. Finding someone to help my grandfather repair his house was no problem. Setting up enough security around so he wouldn’t ever have to worry seemed like something we could talk him into.

  Yet as I was on my back, staring up at the ceiling, I was starting to worry.

  My grandfather had to know I was basically still alive. I was given to my father. I imagine he suspected I was living with him still.

  Would he want to know I was here?

  Did I want to tell him?

  Maybe I should just leave after we made sure the robbers didn’t come back.

  But even then, we couldn’t leave.

  Not until I could go through my mother’s things and figure out what I wanted or if I had any documentation left.

  But... could I take them? Not without asking. It felt wrong. Not without telling him and asking permission. Which meant telling him about myself.

  I felt bad thinking about leaving, too. Even if someone were to come stay with my grandfather, somehow it felt like I was abandoning more than just him. My mother had lived here. Her things were here. It mattered to me for some reason. I wanted to go through them and find out who she was.

  Not today. I didn’t have to make this decision right now. I needed time to think clearly, to figure out the next step. And securing the farmhouse took precedence.

  The phone next to me rang.

  I hesitated because it wasn’t my phone. I’d already used it to call Victor a couple of times, and then Dr. Green to let him know what happened. I was supposed to trade this one for a fresh one immediately when we got a chance.

  I answered, although I didn’t say hello.

  “Sang?” Kota’s voice came through.

  I sighed, relieved that it was him. “I’m here.”

  He spoke in a gentle voice, but from the way the sound was coming through, it sounded like I was on speaker. “Tell us what happened.”

  I wasn’t sure where to begin, and when I started to talk about the robbers who had just been here, Kota had me back up and start before then.

  So I started at the beginning of getting to Kentucky. He didn’t interrupt until I got to the part where the robbers left and I was now in the back room alone.

  “Dr. Green sent us a plate number,” Victor’s voice came clear on the phone, though he was clearly at a distance from the mouthpiece. “It’s an expired plate. The truck was last owned by someone locally but their image doesn’t match the description North sent us.”

  It could have been stolen. This might make it more difficult to track them down.

  “Should we find someone to talk to the owner?” I asked. “He might know who took his truck.”

  “Luke and Dr. Green and Nathan can do that next,” Kota said. “You should stay there with Gabriel, and Silas and North should remain nearby. We don’t know if they’ll be back. We’ll have to figure out a way to get a tracker on the truck and trace it. We’ve researched local robberies and there are open cases, but nothing with clues that could connect to the people in the truck. We might have to help them along.”

  Without being able to call the cops to handle it, we were forced to fend for ourselves until we could get to a point they could take over. “What can we do if we figure out who they are?” I asked.

  “We can get local team members to follow them, and at the first moment of trouble, they’ll call local authorities and get them arrested on charges unrelating to you at all.” He paused. “Actually it might take longer. If they robbed the house before, we’ll have to find where they’re stashing the stuff. Who knows if they happened to grab anything relating to you.”

  My tongue glued itself to the top of my mouth. I hated thinking of how familiar this was, avoiding authorities because we didn’t want attention, police records on file, etc. And now we might be crossing into dangerous territory if we had to track them back to where they stored their stolen goods.

  But I did have some questions. “I don’t understand how my grandfather isn’t supposed to have guns, but he does now. It felt like he was saying legally he’s not supposed to have them. But how can that be the case if there’s no record of him with the police?”

  “Your family has been around that area for a while,” Kota said. “And sometimes small towns skirt the line as far as protocols. Sometimes it’s needed. In small towns, rumors spread fast and a newspaper article can devastate an entire family, losing jobs and opportunities that might have been available otherwise. If your family has been around there a long time, then they are probably long-term friends with the local police. But your uncle or grandmother might be able to give more details if you can’t ask your grandfather.”

  I touched at my eyelids, rubbing them gently. I’d reached a point where I didn’t know what to do next. It had been a long day.

  Then Mr. Blackbourne’s voice broke through to the phone. I hadn’t even realized he was there.

  “How are you doing, Miss Sorenson?”

  A light warmth spread through my body. He always did have a way of making me feel he was attentive, waiting for my thoughts if I ever were to share them.

  “I honestly don’t know,” I said. “It feels like we got here just in time. I don’t know what we would have run in to if we’d waited even just a little longer.”

  “Are you finding what you’ve wanted to find out?” he asked.

  I hesitated to answer him this time. We’d just stumbled across my mother’s room before everything went crazy. “Sort of. There’s so much to go over.”

  “So you need more time?”

  “I don’t know if I have a choice,” I said. “Especially until we make sure no one comes back for my grandfather.”

  “And what about your grandmother?”

  I turned, staring off at the wall but not really seeing it. “I still have to see her.”

  “There’s plenty of time,” he said.

  “Gabriel still has to source where his mom’s family might be,” Kota said. “They all might need extra time.”

  “We need Gabriel here soon,” Victor said. “We’re working with Pam about her new boyfriend but she seems reluctant to make decisions without Gabriel around. It’s like Gabriel reaffirmed her belief in herself. I think she’s hesitant to kick the boyfriend out without Gabriel around to back her up.”

  I hadn’t heard much about Pam. I asked about it, and they caught me up on how Mr. Buble was trying to chase off Pam’s new boyfriend.

  “Should he go back now?” I asked. “If she needs support...”

  Kota spoke, “Have him call her the first chance he gets. I know it’s busy.”

  “Give it another day or two,” Victor said. “Give him a chance to find his mom’s family at least. Then if we need him, we can have him drive down quickly and let everyone else stay behind if you need to take a little longer.”

  If he left, he’d be leaving me alone with my grandfather. I couldn’t just replace him with someone else since he was supposed to be my boyfriend. How could I explain that?

  Which meant I had maybe two days to do what I came to do here, before I would have to leave the property or figure out another solution. If Gabriel stayed, who knew if Pam would feel confident enough to finally leave the abusive boyfriend she had?

  I didn’t want to be the one to say it, but I wasn’t sure how soon I could get back, even if I had to leave my grandfather’s house, because someone had to be nearby. Otherwise I’d have to ask the Academy for a favor. It pained me to think of how long I would need to even just go through my mother’s old room. It would make getting my mother’s things that much harder if the Academy stepped in.

  I was running out of options. The only real solution that I might have in two days, if I wanted to stay on, was to reveal myself to my grandfather and explain why I was here.

  I would have to risk everything.

  We’ll Manage Somehow

  Gabriel

  Gabriel sat on the front foyer steps, with his head in his hands, leaning forward. He was exhausted. The wood was harsh against his butt but he wasn’t feeling like going to bed.

  Everything was fucking up fast.

  What the hell was he going to do if those guys showed back up again with guns? Or even more people? Could they figure out who they were and stop them before they came back?

  It was putting a real dent in their time trying to get to the bottom of everything. The more they stayed, the more he feared North was right.

  And of course, North was right. There was no way they could leave now. Not with the way things were. Even if they handled the thieves and got them to stay back...

  Gabriel wasn’t even sure how long it would be before Sang felt she needed to reveal who she really was.

  At least Sang’s grandfather was safe. Now that they knew, even if they had to drag him off the farm for his own good, they wouldn’t let those thieves get to him anymore. He’d never have to face them alone again.

  Footsteps echoed from the kitchen and trailed through the living room. Gabriel picked his head up in time to find Brian trudging through the doorway with Chica in tow.