Page 48

“I’m here.” The sound of my tires screeching against the asphalt is audible over the phone.

“Are you driving and calling at the same time?” she asks worriedly. Killian cuts me off before I can reply. “I’m here, Alexis. I’ll make sure he drives safely.” He purses his lips, raising his eyebrow at me, holding on tightly every time we make a turn. If there is a speed limit here, I’m one hundred percent breaking it right now. My feet are cramping with how much force I’m putting on them. But I can think of only one thing. Get to Alexis before Kane does something he’ll regret. “I’m almost there.”

“What do you mean almost there? It’s a six-minute drive.”

Well, it’s now a three-minute drive.

I near her driveway. Kane’s car is parked on the street.

Alexis must have heard us coming. She opens the door, ignoring Kane, who’s leaning against the wall. Instead, she meets my eyes. I open my door and slam it shut. I don’t care if it’s locked or not. It’s only when I see her unharmed that I finally calm down. “Alexis!” I call, my quick footsteps thundering against the asphalt. The moment I’m in her reach, I grab her arms, pulling her against me in a tight embrace. Her body stills for a moment before relaxing in my arms, her cheek resting against my chest. “You okay?” I whisper. She nods against me. Footsteps crunch in the grass beside me.

Killian.

I pull away from Alexis, my hands clench into fists. I have to restrain myself so I don’t pummel Kane’s ugly face into a bloody mess. “Well, isn’t this nice,” Kane drawls, his eyebrows raised. I grab Alexis’s hand, trying to get her to stand behind me so she can use me as a shield, but she’s not having it. Instead, she stands beside me, our arms brushing. “What do you want now?” Alexis asks, sounding bored. “Or are you here to manhandle me again?”

“Manhandle?” Kane laughs bitterly. “I barely touched you.” He looks over at me, smiling smugly. “If you listened to me, I wouldn’t have touched you, but it seems like that hasn’t changed in the past fifteen years.”

He did not just say that.

I’m halfway to him, my fists clenched tightly, when a hand pulls me back. Hard. My mouth opens as I look over my shoulder, thinking it was Killian who pulled me back, but instead I’m greeted with a pair of green eyes. Alexis. She shakes her head. Kane still has that smug smile on his face. And fuck do I want to punch it off him. He’s provoking me, and it’s working.

Kane steps away from the wall, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “I just came here to say that they’re opening your brother’s case again.” He stares at Alexis. “Apparently they think they have a better shot now, you know, with the new technology and such.” He gives me one last look, then steps into his car and drives away. Alexis freezes beside me, her hand tightens around my arm, so hard it’s almost painful.

His words linger in the air. “Not again,” she whispers.

Over the past fifteen years, they have opened and closed the case numerous times, and each time they got Alexis’s hopes up.

“What an asshole,” Killian mutters, but I don’t look at him. Instead, I keep my eyes trained on Alexis. I step in front of her, my shadow covering her face, lowering my head, hoping to meet her eyes, but she keeps her eyes on the ground.

“Sunshine,” I call out softly, laying my hand on her shoulder. Her body jerks. I remove my hand, scared that I hurt her. Instead, she grabs my hand. Her fingers wrapping around my wrist. “I’m okay,” she says, trying to sound confident but fails miserably. “I’ll be okay.” She holds my wrist tighter. “Can we go inside?”

“Of course.” Her fingers intertwine with mine. I squeeze tightly. Her lips tilt up, but it’s nowhere close to her normal smile. “You can come too, Killian,” she says, glancing over her shoulder at my best friend. He grins at me, eyes flicking to my and Alexis’s hands.

I raise an eyebrow, daring him to say something. He doesn’t. Instead he follows us inside.

“Are you sure?” I’m leaning against her front door, holding my jacket in one hand, my car keys in the other.

Alexis waves me off, “I’ll be fine.” Killian and I had spent the entire evening at her house. I kept waiting for her to break, to say something about the news she had received, but she was stoic the entire time. I kept my eyes on her. But she acted like there was nothing wrong. But I knew it would hit her. I’m just hoping she won’t crash when she’s alone, since Killian and I are going out. “Go have fun.” Her lips tilt up in a crooked smile. “Call me if you need me to drive you,” she orders softly. “I don’t want you to drink and drive.”

Well, that’s not going to be a problem since I barely drink. “We’ll be fine,” I reply, matching her grin. Walking backward, giving her one last glance. “Don’t wait up.”

Fuck it’s warm here. The sudden heat and smell of sweat and other things I don’t want to think about greet me the moment the bar door opens. It’s a busy night. The entire place is filled with people. A familiar song is playing, but I can’t remember the name. “You want something?” Killian asks loudly. I barely hear him over the music. He points towards the bar, where several bartenders are pouring all kinds of drinks. I shake my head. He taps my shoulder lightly, slipping into the crowd. I move over to the end of the bar, where it’s quieter, waiting until Killian is back.

I tap my fingers to the rhythm of the music when I notice a familiar face. Connor. What is he doing here?

Then I see who he’s talking to, it’s a heated conversation with none other than my best friend, of fucking course. This night can’t get any worse. I bonk my head against the wall, taking a deep breath before walking over to them.

I’m a few steps away from them when I hear Killian shout angrily. The music is loud where I’m standing, but I hear every word. “We broke up a few months ago, and you’re already dating?”

What…the…fuck?

I replay his words in my mind as if I misheard them. Connor’s face whitens, his eyes going wide. “Cars,” he breathes, but I don’t hear him over the thrumming in my ears. Dating. They were dating? And they didn’t tell me? I try to swallow, but my throat feels like a Sahara. Everything clicks like a puzzle in my head.

That’s why they had been so standoffish with each other, why they couldn’t behave when they were in the same room. They broke up. They had been dating. And they didn’t tell me.

“How long?”

Killian moves over to me, trying to grab my arm, eyes wide with panic. But I hold out my hand, shaking my head. “How…long?” I grit out. My hands turn clammy as I think over every moment they spent together, wondering when their behavior started to change, when they had started dating, and how I had been so oblivious to see it. Killian swallows, eyes flitting between my brother and me.