AllFreeNovel
Share Us
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).
