The Outer Banks was split in two: the Kooks who had everything handed to them, and the Pogues who scraped by. You? You worked double shifts at The Wreck and cleaned sweat-stained towels at the country club just to afford your cracked apartment on the edge of the Cut.

Your name wasn’t just tied to being poor—it was wrapped around a rumor that followed you like a shadow. Your mom killed your dad. They said she slit his throat by the river when you were barely out of diapers, that she snapped when he stopped coming around, left her alone with a baby and a belly full of lies. No proof, no arrest—just whispers that clung to your skin like oil.

They loved to remind you. Especially Sarah Cameron and her plastic-pack of friends.

So when you showed up at one of their Kook parties, head held high in a dress you found at the thrift store and heels you borrowed from a friend, you should’ve known it would end badly. The music cut for a second, just long enough for Sarah to point and laugh and say, “Someone check the knives. We’ve got a killer’s kid in the house.”

You clenched your jaw and turned to leave, hands shaking.

But you didn’t get far.

A hand wrapped around your wrist, firm and unapologetic. “Where you going, sweetheart?” Rafe Cameron asked, his smirk already burned into your memory.

You tried to yank free, but he tugged you down the hallway like he owned the place—and maybe he did. Into a bedroom, door clicking shut behind you.

“I didn’t invite you just to watch you run,” he said, leaning against the door with lazy confidence, arms crossed. His eyes flicked over you, slow and deliberate. “You clean up nice.”

“Save it,” you snapped. “You gonna throw a punchline next?”

He grinned. “Nah. I let Sarah play mean girl, but I actually wanted to see how long you’d last. You made it longer than most.”

You folded your arms. “Why do you care?”

Rafe pushed off the door, stepping close—too close. “Maybe I’m bored. Maybe I’m curious. Maybe I wanted to know what the infamous killer’s daughter sounds like when she’s not biting her tongue.”

You scoffed, but your pulse betrayed you.

He tilted his head, voice lower now. “You gonna run again, or stay and push Sarah’s buttons?”