Feeling a new surge of energy, I exit my room and trudge to the staircase leading down to the basement.

Only to find the door locked.

I knock a few times, but there’s no answer.

Huffing, I walk over to the window. Knox’s jeep is in the driveway, so he’s definitely home.

I walk around the house to the outside entrance of the basement.

Exasperated, I knock a few times on that door, but I still don’t get a response.

I’m peeved that he’s intentionally ignoring me. I’m about to trek back into the house, but a soft crying sound snags my attention.

When I shoot my gaze out toward the backyard, I see something small, white, and furry.

I approach and quickly realize it’s a kitten. Judging by its tiny size and very weak cry, the poor thing is starving.

Starving and alone.

I brush my hand along his fur, hoping I don’t startle it away. However, the kitty is so tired, it makes no protest about being touched. “Hey, buddy. Where’s your mama?”

Because a kitten this small is definitely still nursing.

I glance around the yard, hoping to find a larger cat somewhere…but there’s no sign of her.

“What are you doing?”

I jump at the sound of Knox’s voice behind me.

Turning my head, I look up at him. “Did you know there was a kitten in the backyard?”

His face scrunches as he glances down. “No.”

He starts to walk inside, but I halt him. “Where were you? I knocked on your door.”

He gestures to the sweatpants and damp t-shirt he’s wearing. “I went for a run.” His eyes narrow. “What do you want?”

Telling him about Candi is going to have to wait because I need to get some food into this kitten.

“Right now? A can of tuna.”

His lips curl. “You shouldn’t feed strays.”

“If I don’t, he’ll die, asshole,” I shoot back, glaring at him.

Visibly annoyed, he rubs the back of his head. “Fine.”

I pet the kitten, trying my best to console him. “Hang on, little guy. You’re gonna get food soon.”

A few minutes later, Knox returns with an open can of tuna. “Here.”

I place it in front of the kitten, but he’s so lethargic, he doesn’t move. Not even when I place some on my finger.

“Come on, baby,” I urge. “Take one little bite.”

“Maybe he wants to be left the fuck alone.”

“He’ll die if I leave him alone. Something must have happened to his mother.” Swallowing my pride for the second time tonight, I utter, “There’s an emergency vet hospital twenty minutes away. Do you think you can give me…us…a ride?”

He looks like I just invited him to a tea party. “Fuck no.”

Frustration courses through me. “I’ll do whatever you want, okay? I just really don’t want him to die.”

Lord knows I’ve had enough death for one day.

Gripping his neck, he looks up at the night sky and mutters a curse. “Fine, but you’re leaving him at the vet. My father’s allergic to cats and he’ll lose his shit if we bring that thing in the house.”

“I won’t bring him inside the house. Promise.”

Chapter 22

Aspen

Three hours later, I have the kitten—who’s evidently a female—swaddled in a blanket in my arms as I feed her formula from a dropper.

While sitting on the floor of Knox’s bedroom.

Smoking his cigarette, he glares at me from across the room.

“It will only be for a few days,” I assure him. “As soon as Whiskers is healthy, she’ll go back to being an outdoor cat.”

But I’ll make sure to stock up on cat food and sneak her some every day after school so she doesn’t go hungry.

He glowers. “Whiskers?”

I stroke Whisker’s fur. “I figured she should have a name during her stay.” I smile as her tiny whiskers tickle my fingers. “Whiskers is cute. Just like she is.”

He grunts.

After Whiskers is done eating, she curls up into the blanket on the floor.

“She’s only three weeks old, so she’ll need to eat every three to four hours.”

He glances at his watch. “Guess your ass will be back down here at two a.m. then.”

I should have expected nothing less from him. Knox doesn’t have a nice bone in his body…not even when it comes to poor, innocent animals.

Although, he did give me a ride to the vet and albeit, reluctantly— agreed to let Whisker’s stay down here for a few days.

“For what it’s worth, I appreciate you doing this.”

Another grunt.

After I’m sure Whiskers is comfortable and fast sleep, I decide to broach the topic of Candi.

“I don’t know if you heard, but there was a body found at Devil’s Bluff.”

He tenses, reaching for another cigarette as he leans against the headboard of his bed. “I heard.”

Blowing out a breath, I walk over to him. “The victim was a girl from my job.”

He says nothing, so I continue, “I tried asking your dad if he could help with the investigation—”

“You asked my father for help?”

I nod. “Yeah…but it didn’t go well. He pretty much said she was a whore and got what she deserved.”

Knox snorts. “No surprise there.”

Biting my lip, I shove my hands in the pockets of my jeans. “I was kind of hoping that maybe you’d talk to him for me. You’re his son, so perhaps you can convince—”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” he snarls. “If he won’t listen to you, what the fuck makes you think he’d listen to me?”

I guess he has a point. “I don’t know.” Looking down, I wring my hands. “She was murdered, Knox…then left out in the woods to rot like a piece of garbage. And the people who can help figure out who did it don’t seem to give a shit just because she took off her clothes for a living.” My arms curl around my frame. “I know what it feels like to know that no one in the world gives a fuck about you. And the more I think about it, I’m realizing that it could have easily been me who was murdered instead of her.” I shrug. “I guess I’d just like to know someone would still fight for me if it was.”