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you were suffering the aftereffects of a traumatic breakup, Harper Jane.”
    That had been the most embarrassing part of this whole thing, having to look suitably ashamed while the police officer sized me up after Aunt Jewel’s explanation. I wasn’t sure if cops were allowed to gossip, but the last thing I wanted was people thinking I was losing it over David leaving. I was not the kind of girl who
pined,
for heaven’s sake.
    â€œYour aunt is right, Harper,” Ryan said, resting a hand on my shoulder. “We can come back tomorrow, hopefully a little more stealthily.”
    My skin felt too tight, my legs restless, but it wasn’t tied to my Paladin senses, I didn’t think. This was just my regular response to being told to wait or be patient. And besides, that girl was still out there, gunning for me. The sooner I got this worked out the better.
    But I couldn’t argue with Ryan, Bee,
and
Aunt Jewel, all three of whom were looking at me expectantly, clearly waiting for me to acquiesce.
    So in the end, I did.
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    I didn’t sleep well that night, which I figured was a natural side effect of having been attacked and nearly arrested. And clearly it showed on my face when I showed up downstairs the next morning, because my mom took one look at me and said she was calling the pool and telling them I was sick.
    I didn’t even try to argue.
    While she was on the phone, Dad came in, straightening his tie.
    â€œHey, sweetheart,” he said, ruffling my hair. Even though I’ll be eighteen in a few months, my dad perpetually treats me like a third-grader.
    On a morning like today, I was actually pretty okay with that.
    â€œRough night?” he asked, and I sighed, poking at my bowl of cereal.
    â€œSomething like that.”
    Dad filled his coffee mug, the one I’d painted for him at camp back when I actually
was
a third-grader. He almost always used it, even though the acrylic paint meant he had to rinse it out by hand instead of putting it in the dishwasher.
    â€œStill nothing from David?” he asked, and I bisected a Cheerio with my spoon.
    As far as my parents—and everyone else in town—knew, David had left to join his aunt Saylor in some other state, andthat move meant we were done. I’d tried to make it seem like it was mutual, that neither of us wanted to do long distance, but clearly I had not succeeded.
    â€œHe’s been in touch,” I said vaguely. Which wasn’t really a lie. I mean, that girl showing up proved he’d been thinking about me.
    Dad made a noncommittal sound and took a sip of coffee just as Mom breezed back into the kitchen.
    â€œThey said Bee called in sick, too,” she told me, and I sat up a little straighter on my stool.
    â€œI wonder if there’s something going around,” Mom continued. She pressed a hand to my forehead, frowning. There were fine lines around her eyes, and she definitely seemed worried, but I had to admit that in the weeks since David had gone, Mom hadn’t seemed nearly as stressed.
    Of course she hadn’t known about the Paladin thing, but I think she’d picked up on . . . something. Some Mom sense of hers had alerted her that I was going through stuff she couldn’t understand, and it had clearly taken a toll.
    â€œMaybe,” I told her now. “Or we’ve just gotten too much sun.”
    I tried to sound nonchalant, but I was worried about Bee and anxious to get to my phone and call her. Was she really sick, or had that girl paid her a visit?
    That thought had me on my feet, muttering something about going back to bed.
    When I got to my room, the light on my cell was blinking, and I checked it, relieved to see that I had two missed calls from Bee, as well as three texts, all asking where I was.
    So I wasn’t the only one on edge.
    I called her back, and she picked up on the first ring.
    â€œThere you