“You haven’t already?”
My heart stopped, my breath caught in my throat as I waited. Did she know?
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “Just saying. You can play good boy all you want, Ace, but I’m really starting to think you don’t follow the rulesallthe time.”
“I do. Isn’t that why you call me Ace to begin with?”
“I guess you’re right. A girl can dream, though, right?”
“Is that what you’re doing in here all day?” I asked, eyes narrowing. “Dreaming. You know, a day ago, I would have said that Evie dreams of murder and chaos, but now...” I let my words die off for a second, leaning in further. “I think you sit in there all day dreaming of cute little love letters and sweet little declarations of love.”
A deadly scowl flashed across her face.
Her phone pinged, and she looked down, frowning as she read the screen.
“Break-up text?” Hero asked, walking over and throwing himself back onto the couch near us.
“She’s not dating anyone,” I snapped.
Hero’s eyebrows jumped up, but Evie cut in before he could argue more.
“No. I don’t know what it is. A threat?”
She turned the phone around to face me as Hero came to my side.
“You look lovely in white. Be careful who you wander off with—some of us have far worse plans in mind.” I read the text out loud, my heart racing as I took it in. “What thefuck?” I asked, grabbing the phone from her hands to look at the number.
“Sounds like you got a creeper,” Hero said. “When were you wearing white?”
“At your party,” I answered for her. Evie’s eyebrows shot up, not hiding her surprise.
“How would you know? I thought you didn’t go.” Hero crossed his arms, cocking his head in my direction.
Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I couldn’t keep my damn mouth shut ever.
“I was there for a few minutes.”
Hero shoved me, obviously offended. “You came to my birthday party and didn’t even say something to me, but talked to Evie? Asshole.”
“He didn’t talk to me, either, which is why I’m surprised he knew what I was wearing.”
Hero’s shove barely registered, even Evie’s words didn’t hit me. My mind too focused on the message that showed up on her phone. Someone had been there, watching her, and it wasn’t only me. They even went as far as finding her number and texting. All the tension in my shoulders grew tighter.
“They are following us closer now.” I shifted on my feet, ignoring Hero’s glare. “They’re getting bolder.”
“If they’re to the point of texting their threats, they’re already too fucking close for comfort,” Hero said.
Evie, her teasing grin long gone, looked between the two of us. Her face paled slightly, but she didn’t lose her composure. “Do you think it’s someone from the party? Like someone who was there and hanging out? Someone had to have gotten close enough without us noticing.”
“It’s possible. It’s not like I knew everyone who actually showed up,” Hero said. “But I couldn’t imagine all of us not noticing some weirdo creep lurking around.”
I didn’t care to add that no one had noticedmecreeping around.
