I elevate my chin and hold his gaze. “So that’s what this is about? Finding the town? The grown man everyone fears?”

“Not everyone fears him,” he replies. “Otherwise, no one would be after him.”

“That’s not true. Everyone fears him in their own way. And fear grows in the dirt of that town, soak the air, are engrained into the minds of every single person who resides there. That’s how a place like that exists. Without fear, the society would crumble.”

He studies me carefully. “You’re an insightful girl,” he finally says with his head tilted. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“You say insightful, most say crazy,” I mutter, which only deepens his puzzlement.

He stares for a moment or two before saying, “Well, my main focus is finding Donny Elderman, not the town. The man has been off the radar for years, yet he’s toxic to the country.” He loosens his tie more, wipes the sweat from his brow, and then rests back on his hands. “But yes, I’d like to bring the town down in the process. From what I understand, there are hundreds of citizens being forced as subjects to his drug experiments. There are no rules, no laws to abide by because no one knows it exists. Regardless, if that restriction and control is based on fear, like you say, a place like that shouldn’t exist. ”

“Why do you care so much?” I wonder, resting my chin on my knee. “Some people usually turn their heads for the right amount of money. Or has no one tried to buy you off yet?”

“No, there have been a few who have tried to buy my silence, but that’s not who I am,” he insists. “I believe that we need to bring the place down.”

I fold my arms and rest back against the dresser behind me. “We? Who said anything about me helping you? I never agreed to that.”

He assesses me and I mimic his move, surprised by my spout of newfound confidence.

“According to Ryler, you’re a good, trustworthy person, which would make you the kind of person who wants to help with something like this.” When I don’t say anything, he straightens his legs and rises to his feet. “Guess Ryler was wrong.” He fishes his phone from his pocket and dials a number. “Doesn’t matter, though. Now that we have Evan Elderman detained, we can still make this happen.”

I’m not positive if he’s telling the truth. The idea that the police somehow managed to arrest Evan seems impossible. “Even if that’s true.” I bend my legs and stand to my feet. “Even if you have Evan, he’ll never tell you anything. He was taught not to open his mouth about his father’s secrets, and unlike me, Evan will do anything to take his secrets to the grave. He’s not weak like me.”

The detective pauses then hangs up the phone. “Unlike you? Does that mean you’ll help us?”

I think about all my confessions to Ryler, how amazing it felt to get the years of lies and sins off my chest. I think of Ellis buried in the basement, forgotten, even by me. Perhaps telling the truth could be my salvation. Ellis said the truth would set me free, and I owe him that much—owe him the truth.

“I’d need to know I was safe first.” I sink down on the mattress. “After this… I’ll never be able to live a normal life, especially in Laramie.”

He sits down near the foot of the bed a few feet away from me. “You can live a normal life, but you’re right. You won’t be able to live in Laramie. We can set you up someplace safe, give you a new name and identity. A new life, if that’s what you want.”

What he’s saying sounds wonderful. I want it so much my body aches, and pleads to be free from the invisible restraints always controlling me. But could it be this easy? I’m still a bit skeptic.

“Are you talking about Witness Protection?” I ask the detective.

He nods. “I am.”

I stare at the backs of my hands. My fingernails are chipped and my skin is dry. I’m falling apart on the outside, yet I don’t mind. With each part of my appearance that breaks, I feel so much more like myself, a person I haven’t fully discovered, but want to more than I want anything else.

My hands drop to my lap. “There’s more that I want other than protection.”

“I figured as much.” He stuffs his phone into the front pocket of his shirt.

Mustering all the confidence I have, I square my shoulders. “When you raid the town, I want you to go to my house—I’ll give you the address if you need it. When you get there, I want you to arrest my mother along with my father. Both of them need to be put in jail if this is going to happen… My mother has a,” I make air quotes, “pharmacy she runs and gives people drugs, so charges against her shouldn’t be a problem. If that doesn’t work, check her necklace. She keeps cocaine in there.”

I suck in a breath, then another, yet I can’t feel the air saturating my lungs. “Underneath the basement floor of my house are the bones of my brother. I want them extracted, and I want him to be given a proper burial.” His jaw drops at that request, but I keep going, needing to get all my secrets out. “And finally, I want to be set up with a psychiatrist wherever I end up. I need to find out… Well, what’s wrong with me?” If I’m crazy or not. If I have psychosis or what. Who I really am when I’m not under the power of my mother and father.

“Why do you think something’s wrong with you?”

“That’s for me to worry about, not you. And there’s one last request that I want as well. If you agree to all of this, then I’ll give you what you want.”