Page 164 of Heresy

“So how do we find your dad?” he asks, taking clear advantage while I focus on catching the strawberry midair.

Stuck in the argument I’d planned on delivering before his fruit missile distraction, I’m absentminded when I answer.

“I think I know where he is.”

He sits up. “The fuck? Why haven’t you told me that?

“Where’d you get the strawberry?”

Apparently, my mind can only concentrate on one thing at a time.

“Who gives a fuck about the strawberry?”

Standing from the couch, he crosses the room at breakneck speed, stopping so close to me it forces my neck to arch back so I can look at him.

You never realize just how tall six-foot-five is until you have to crane your neck to stare up at it.

“Where is your dad?”

“I’m still wondering about the strawberry.”

He snatches it from my hand then throws it across the room into the kitchen area.

My head turns to follow the direction it took, but Shane captures my chin between his fingers and forces my face back to his.

“Your dad, Brinley. Focus.”

“I don’t know for a fact where he is, but I was thinking about it when you were fixing the car.”

“And? That is?”

Pulling away from his hold, I take a few steps back to relieve my neck of the awkward angle.

“We had a second house when I was younger. It’s out in a rural area, and Dad told me years ago that he turned it into a safe house. I only saw it once, and I can’t remember exactly where it is.”

He looks incredulous.

“And you waited until now to say anything? Why would you hide this from me?”

“Well, we’re here now, so…”

Shane pulls his phone from his back pocket and walks off.

“What are you doing?”

“Calling Taylor so he can find the house.”

“That’s impossible. It’s a safe house.”

“So?” He turns to face me. “That means?”

This is all too much.

Taking a breath, I steady myself and shake away all the bullshit that today alone has offered.

“It means there is nothing that identifies the house as his. The deed won’t be in his name. There isn’t a phone. No power bills or water bills. It’s completely off the grid. The only way to find it is to know where it is to begin with.”

A snarl curls his lips. “Then why did you say you know where he is? Do you know where the house is?”

---