to a halt just outside the main

curb. He is dressed in a baggy Thrasher hoodie, ripped jeans, and

on his wrist. His mother

e clinic doors, the roar of a high-

und garage exit, taking the corner so

e passenger side window

of a second. Sitting in the passenger seat of his mot

has his

a million calculations, cross-referencing genetic probabilities and

zzle together, the glass d

demon straight out of hell. He is barking orders into a he

strians and locks instantly onto t

ut everything that doesn't match his desperate search. The baggy hoodie, the ripped j

his knees on the dirty sidewalk and

expensive cedar and tobacco fills his nose. He tries to

vulnerability that shocks Leo. "Where did you go? Do

amber eyes. He recognizes this face from the

The sperm donor. The man

e boy in the car with his mothe

re t

s brilliant mind. He needs to get inside the Merritt

a traumatized child. He goes completely

ll. Guilt washes over him.

p to the curb. Cayden scoops Leo

den orders the driver. "M

ks down at the boy sitting next to him. His brow

. "Why are you wearing these

eye, his voice flat and monotone. "The bad men made

s. The explanation aligns perfectly with his assumpt

ow. Beneath the brim of his baseball cap, a co

jan Hor