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No matter what Neri had told the police last night, if Ethan’s friend could figure out his last location, I was fucked.
“His phone pinged in the middle of Trinity Bay before it went dark,” Zara said, throwing a furtive look at the kitchen window behind us. “I guess...I came here to tell you, Nee, that...I know I failed you as a friend. I know I hurt you unforgivably. And I know you’ll curse me until the end of your days for not hearing you screaming. But...I wanted you to know that I did my best to fix this. Cooper’s pretty savvy with tech and managed to clone Ethan’s phone with his number and all the stuff in his cloud. There’s software that you can use to plug in a phone number, and it pings that location all over the world, leading anyone searching for it on a wild goose chase.”
My ears pricked.
My panic paused.
Is that truly possible?
Zara’s face blanched. “I made the mistake of scrolling through Ethan’s content and...” She shook her head. “Let’s just say, I hope to God he’s dead because the images on there? The sick shit he was into? The dead animals that I’m pretty sure he murdered and mutilated—?”
Wiping her mouth, she stood taller and locked eyes with Neri. “Whoever Ethan pissed off did the world a favour by making him disappear, and as far as Cooper and I are concerned, we will do whatever it takes to ensure the police believe Ethan is off living his best life far, far away.”
Her brown eyes locked onto mine again, pinning me to the spot. I never thought Zara was anything more than an easy-going girl. A girl who’d somehow befriended Neri thanks to the convenience of school, but as our eyes tangled and my nape prickled, I wondered, just briefly, if the reason Zara and Neri were friends was because they had a lot more in common than I thought.
A knowing kind of similarity. An otherworldly connection to things not many people could sense.
Sudden fear crawled up my spine.
Could Zara know?
Had I left evidence behind when I’d knocked Ethan out?
Fuck...are there cameras?
An insidious chill spread through me as Zara said, just to me, “Along with Ethan’s phone, I made sure all the home security footage of the party was taped over.” Bracing herself, she whispered, “Thanks for taking the rubbish out that night, Aslan. I’m very glad Neri has you. Keep her safe for me, okay?”
Darting forward, she placed a quick kiss on Neri’s cheek before bolting from the garden.
I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t swallow.
She saw.
She’d seen me hunting Ethan in the shadows of her house. She’d seen me hiding behind her rubbish bins.
She knows.
“Aslan...” Neri squeezed me. “Hey...what’s wrong?” Turning in my hold, she reached up and cupped my clammy cheeks. “Speak to me. You’re scaring me.”
I looked down.
I drowned in her worried stare.
I sucked in a breath to say—
“Ah, great, you’re finally out of the pool.” Jack chuckled, ripping my gaze to his as he stepped out of the house and grinned in the bright afternoon. “How long did you hold your breath for, little fish?”
Neri scowled at my taut silence, smiling unwillingly at her dad. “Only four minutes and forty-three seconds. I got...distracted.”
“I can see that.” Jack raised his eyebrows at how close Neri and I were.
I didn’t even have the power to step away from her, regardless that our closeness was now permitted.
She knows.
All it would take was for Zara to pick up the phone and tell—
“We have a guest. Hey, Aslan? Come have a quick beer with us. Wayne wants to personally apologise for what I did to you.”
Fuck.
My insides smothered beneath icy avalanches as Wayne Gratt—Jack’s friend and neighbour from down the street—stepped onto the deck. I knew he was a cop. It was why I always found tasks that needed doing when he was around or made myself scarce if he stayed longer than usual.
Shit.
SHIT.
“Aslan?” Jack asked, stepping toward Neri and me. “Everything okay, mate?” He winced. “It’s been five days, yet those bruises I gave you only seem to be getting more colourful.”
She knows.
What the fuck was I supposed to do with that information?
Was Wayne here to arrest me?
Was this what my nightmares had been so afraid of?
I’d been lucky enough to be officially, legally engaged to the love of my life, only for it to last less than a motherfucking week.
“Aslan?” True worry filled Jack’s eyes as he stepped off the deck and approached us.
I tripped backward, colliding with Neri’s bike, sending it smashing to the ground. “Lanet olsun.” (Damn).
“It’s okay,” Neri whispered, quickly grabbing the handlebars and righting the tangle of wheels. “I think Aslan has a touch of heatstroke, Dad. Perhaps a beer might not be best.”
“Have a lemonade then,” Anna said, coming to join the disaster in the garden. “I just squeezed some.” She held up a dewy carafe, smiling so kindly, so happily.
