“Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?” Isaac’s eyes, however, continued to flicker in tandem with the leaves.
Bending down, Keegan put his hand under Isaac’s chin and gently guided it so his brother was facing him. “We’re gonna go get washed up now, Isaac. I’m gonna clean you up, okay?”
The boy’s eyes continued to flicker, but their movement slowed, and he seemed to focus on some point just to the right of Keegan’s face, the closest he ever came to seeing eye-to-eye with another person.
“I’ll do that,” said their father, taking Isaac’s hand and leading him toward the back step.
They’d reached the landing when Keegan spoke again. “It was an accident, all right? I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
His father turned to him. “But you did, Keegan. You have to be more careful.”
Keegan abruptly felt spark inside him the anger that had burned so intensely just a few minutes earlier. “Because of you,” Keegan snarled, “my whole
life
is about being careful!”
His father’s eyes held his for a moment, the look on his face unreadable, then he opened the back door and gently ushered Isaac inside.
Feeling his anger roil uselessly, Keegan retrieved his backpack, then saw the soccer ball a few feet away. More than anything, he wanted to kick that ball as hard as he could, drive it overhead into the maple where, he hoped, the stalk of a branch would pierce it. He liked the thought of hearing the air rush out of it, seeing the synthetic leather collapse around itself, watching it deflate like every dream he’d ever had.
But instead, he picked the ball up and walked toward that piece-of-shit shed, tossed it inside, and closed the door behind him. Turning toward the house, he realized he no longer heard the sounds of the soccer tryouts on the school field.
You could block out anything if you tried hard enough.
CHAPTER 13
I nteresting, thought Griff as he stared at the Facebook update. The new boyfriend was a surprise, although he probably shouldn’t have been, given how much time had passed since the other guy had been out of the picture. Griff had marvelled at how Talia hadn’t moved on right away, admired her decision to wait, respected her sense of loyalty. He wondered what had changed. Had she learned something new?
Griff’s fingers flew over his keyboard. Months ago, he’d hacked her computer and downloaded software that alerted him whenever someone accessed her Facebook page or messaged her through any of her social networks, but no alert had been triggered beyond the ones he routinely investigated. Nothing was foolproof, though, which is why he was manually accessing her other media, but half an hour later, he slumped back in his chair, frustrated once again. His efforts had turned up nothing he hadn’t seen before, no contact from people he hadn’t already checked out. The only difference was that Soccerguy89, whom Talia had friended weeks ago, was suddenly more than just a friend.
Seeing how the target had covered his tracks so thoroughly, Griff figured the man knew how to stay under the radar, which was why he’d switched his focus to the older son. He was surethe kid would fuck up, thinking that after all those months had passed it was finally safe to reach out to her. So when Soccerguy89 first popped up on Talia’s page, Griff’s instincts had jangled like crazy—the target’s son had
lived
for soccer.
But Soccerguy89 was just a seventeen-year-old named Nick Longley whose dad, a major at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, had mustered out of the service and taken a civilian job at O’Hare Airport, resulting in the family’s move to Chicago. And from what Griff had learned while accessing the boy’s Ohio school records, an okay guy. Certainly nothing like those losers Sonia Martinez was forever hooking up with.
And now Talia and Nick Longley were a couple.
Griff felt a twinge of something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Disappointment? That made no sense.
Bending down, Keegan put his hand under Isaac’s chin and gently guided it so his brother was facing him. “We’re gonna go get washed up now, Isaac. I’m gonna clean you up, okay?”
The boy’s eyes continued to flicker, but their movement slowed, and he seemed to focus on some point just to the right of Keegan’s face, the closest he ever came to seeing eye-to-eye with another person.
“I’ll do that,” said their father, taking Isaac’s hand and leading him toward the back step.
They’d reached the landing when Keegan spoke again. “It was an accident, all right? I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
His father turned to him. “But you did, Keegan. You have to be more careful.”
Keegan abruptly felt spark inside him the anger that had burned so intensely just a few minutes earlier. “Because of you,” Keegan snarled, “my whole
life
is about being careful!”
His father’s eyes held his for a moment, the look on his face unreadable, then he opened the back door and gently ushered Isaac inside.
Feeling his anger roil uselessly, Keegan retrieved his backpack, then saw the soccer ball a few feet away. More than anything, he wanted to kick that ball as hard as he could, drive it overhead into the maple where, he hoped, the stalk of a branch would pierce it. He liked the thought of hearing the air rush out of it, seeing the synthetic leather collapse around itself, watching it deflate like every dream he’d ever had.
But instead, he picked the ball up and walked toward that piece-of-shit shed, tossed it inside, and closed the door behind him. Turning toward the house, he realized he no longer heard the sounds of the soccer tryouts on the school field.
You could block out anything if you tried hard enough.
CHAPTER 13
I nteresting, thought Griff as he stared at the Facebook update. The new boyfriend was a surprise, although he probably shouldn’t have been, given how much time had passed since the other guy had been out of the picture. Griff had marvelled at how Talia hadn’t moved on right away, admired her decision to wait, respected her sense of loyalty. He wondered what had changed. Had she learned something new?
Griff’s fingers flew over his keyboard. Months ago, he’d hacked her computer and downloaded software that alerted him whenever someone accessed her Facebook page or messaged her through any of her social networks, but no alert had been triggered beyond the ones he routinely investigated. Nothing was foolproof, though, which is why he was manually accessing her other media, but half an hour later, he slumped back in his chair, frustrated once again. His efforts had turned up nothing he hadn’t seen before, no contact from people he hadn’t already checked out. The only difference was that Soccerguy89, whom Talia had friended weeks ago, was suddenly more than just a friend.
Seeing how the target had covered his tracks so thoroughly, Griff figured the man knew how to stay under the radar, which was why he’d switched his focus to the older son. He was surethe kid would fuck up, thinking that after all those months had passed it was finally safe to reach out to her. So when Soccerguy89 first popped up on Talia’s page, Griff’s instincts had jangled like crazy—the target’s son had
lived
for soccer.
But Soccerguy89 was just a seventeen-year-old named Nick Longley whose dad, a major at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, had mustered out of the service and taken a civilian job at O’Hare Airport, resulting in the family’s move to Chicago. And from what Griff had learned while accessing the boy’s Ohio school records, an okay guy. Certainly nothing like those losers Sonia Martinez was forever hooking up with.
And now Talia and Nick Longley were a couple.
Griff felt a twinge of something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Disappointment? That made no sense.
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