HENRY POV
The parking lot was dead quiet except for the occasional crunch of tires over loose gravel. Dax and I stood near his truck, leaning against the hood, both of us too tense to even fake casual conversation. My fists clenched and unclenched at my sides, and I could tell from Dax’s set jaw that he was feeling the same storm brewing inside.
We were waiting. Waiting for Blake and this mysterious brother of his to show up with answers—answers that might lead us to Maria. My Maria.
A black SUV pulled into the lot, its headlights cutting through the growing shadows of the evening. It rolled toward us at a steady, deliberate pace, stopping just a few feet away. The tinted window on the driver’s side lowered, revealing Blake’s smirking face.
**“Hop in,”** he said, jerking his thum
