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his hair scraggly, but the eyes—Vincent Conrad in Instaburger? Wyatt thought wildly. This was unbelievable. Wyatt smiled broadly; that’s why he looked familiar. His face split into a wide grin. He pumped the older man’s hand enthusiastically. “Dr. Conrad!You look so…different. I can’t believe it.” He pulled his phone from his back pocket. “Do you mind if we take a selfie? No one is going to believe this,” he said, his voice cracking.
    Vincent smiled, leaning toward Wyatt’s shoulder to squeeze into the frame.
    “How’s it going down there? Are you ready for the opening?” Rapid-fire questions popped out of his mouth. He was standing right next to him, the most famous man in the country, now the planet. He had treated Vincent Conrad to a double double. Wait till I tell Carter, Wyatt thought, his eyes bright with the excitement. “Man, what I would give to go to the park tomorrow,” Wyatt said wistfully.
    “Really?” Vincent turned to look at him full in the face. “What would you give?”
    Nolan burst out laughing, “Yeah, and I’m Tom Brady,” he sneered. “Eww, you did it. You’re touching that vermin’s hand.” He tossed his half-eaten burger in the trash. “I’ll never eat anything you touch ever again.”
    The large group stopped talking at once. The room was silent, except for Nolan’s rude laughter. Vincent snapped his fingers and then held up four fingers.
    Sharice fiddled with different envelopes. Vincent turned a baleful eye on her, and her search became frantic. Dropping her sheaf of papers, she rushed to him, slapping four silver strips into his palm, uttering an apology.
    Vincent walked with deadly calm to the table in the rear. Nolan’s laughter died on his lips, his face puzzled.
    “Ah, the cool kids. So you don’t believe that I am Vincent Conrad?” he asked with menacing calm. “I wonder, what will it take for you to believe? Do you like to be scared?” He leaned down, his face next to Jade who sat frozen in her chair. Theoedged away from the old man. Keisha stared him straight in the face. He wagged a finger at her. “You don’t seem afraid of anything?” He peeled off one ticket, letting it float onto the greasy tabletop. “One ticket for Diana.”
    “My name’s Keisha.”
    “I think you are the fair Diana, goddess of the hunt,” he said, considering her appreciatively.
    Keisha picked up the ticket to look at its contents. Nolan snatched it from her slender fingers. “Hey!”
    “Holy shit, this is a ticket for the grand opening of Monsterland!” Nolan looked up to reconsider the older man. “You really are Conrad.”
    “Dr. Conrad,” he said disdainfully. “I need you youngsters to come and take lots of pictures, and Twitter them, Facebook them, Instagram them, Kardashianize them to your many little friends. Spread the word, children.” He dropped the remaining tickets onto the table. “Let’s see if Monsterland can scare the daylights out of you.” Vincent leered at them.
    “These are free tickets,” Keisha said suspiciously. “Why are you giving them to us?”
    Vincent eyes bored into Nolan. “What’s your name?”
    “Nolan Steward.” Nolan puffed out his chest and then reached out for a handshake. “My father is—”
    “I know who your father is,” Vincent dismissed him. Conrad eyed his proffered hand and ignored him.
    Jade shuddered. “I don’t know—”
    “You don’t know what?” Vincent moved down to be eye level with her.
    “Wyatt was nice. He gave you something to eat. Why would you give Nolan the tickets?”
    Vincent’s long fingers caressed the top of Jade’s head. “Very nice. Very nice. I like a girl with heart.”
    Vincent turned, opening his arms wide. “You are right! It seems as though we have left out the nerds! But…” He rose and circled the room. “Appearances can be deceiving,” he said grandly. “I have something very special in store for Wyatt of the infamous Baldwins. Perhaps you’ll invite