Page 16 of Breathe Like Hell

Mila

I have no idea. I just kinda blacked out when I talked to him

Me

LOL okay maybe it was me

Mila

I’m wearing a push up bra when I come to pick you up today

A burst of laughter escaped my red-stained lips, and I tilted my head back, a few stray pieces of hair skimming my cheeks when the breeze shifted. I could hear a car pulling into the lot, gravel crunching under the wheels, but I was hidden from sight where I sat behind the fence.

Me

I’ll be looking forward to it

I ate the rest of my crackers, washing down the crumbs with my slowly-melting cherry slush, swirling the frosty drink in its plastic cup. A few black-winged birds swooped around the station, flying over my head, one of them landing on the cracked pavement and two more landing on top of the fence.

I felt guilty that I hadn’t been texting Mila much recently, but she never faulted me for it. The people who might actually fault me for my absence were my Unit Ops group mates, but I hoped that my contributions to our upcoming report would make up for my quietness. I might not reply to texts, but I would get done what I needed to.

None of my other classes had groups, so all my failures and missing assignments were only affecting me. I could be grateful for that, at least.

Checking the time on my phone, I decided to go inside early. There weren’t enough distractions from my thoughts out here. Eric tried to make me go back outside and finish my break, but I refused, and he eventually relented, letting me swap with him at the register.

I plopped myself on the stool, ready to wait out the last few hours of my shift.

CHAPTER SIX

MASON

“It has to be soon,” Micah said as he stepped away from the window, the blinds falling shut behind him, slicing back through the gloomy scenery. “I don’t give a fuck about anything relating to you or myself right now, but now he’s targeting her. She can’t protect herself. And I can hardly speak to you about how mad I am about this.”

“I know. What, today? I don’t know where he is.” Guilt slid through me, warm and prickly. This was my fault. I hadn’t taken my responsibility seriously and now Dakota’s life was on the line because of it.

“Then go find him, Mason. What the fuck do you even do all day? You don’t have a job.”

“I do have a job.”

“Barely.”

I rolled my eyes and Micah sighed, walking past me to the kitchen. The physical distance between us felt very purposeful now, neither of us willing to bring up what we’d done last night. Truthfully, I didn’t even want to be at his house again now, but I understood the urgency that’d just been infused into the Aamon situation. While I didn’t worry too much about him killing Micah, I did worry about him killing Dakota. I worried like I breathed.

She was a lot easier to kill, and I cared about her life a lot more than I cared about Micah’s life.

The situation between the three of us had shifted drastically since last night.

With Dakota at the center of the danger, both Micah and I had to act differently. It wasn’t about him anymore. She’d been forced into the spotlight of our decades-old feud.

“You know I can’t do it on my own, right?” I said, going to lean against the counter. The question almost felt like an admission of weakness, but it wasn’t like Micah didn’t already know that.

“I was sort of hoping you’d try,” Micah replied without looking at me.

“Because you want me to kill myself.”

“Something like that.” He dragged a hand through his hair, the muscles of his arm visible through his crisp button down. I hated how good this type of shirt looked on him, and how often he wore them. “I’ll help you now, though. Since it’s her life on the line. Figure out if he’s on Earth today. That would be our first step.”

“I highly fucking doubt he’s not,” I scoffed.