8
I knew he was lying about where he was headed before he even finished his sentence. There’s a difference between a gut feeling and the kind of slow, gnawing certainty that seeps into your bones. This was the latter. It had been building for weeks. Every strange contradiction, every mismatched detail, every time I looked into Jake’s eyes and saw someone I didn’t quite recognize.
So I followed him.
I told myself I just needed to see something, maybe a clue or a confrontation, anything that could explain this madness. But deep down, I think I already knew what I was going to find.
He didn’t see me. I made sure I was careful. I parked two cars behind, keeping my sunglasses on and walked slow and casually when he turned the corner on 9th and Delaney and headed into the café.
But what mad
