28. Mira

28

MIRA

A loud pop goes off in my ear, and I almost hit the deck.

"Another balloon down!" Davis cheers, tossing back another tequila shot to go with it.

At this rate, this drinking game is going to kill him.

And the popping balloons are going to kill me.

I've been on edge for days—longer, actually, but the last few days have been especially bad. That's what getting a threatening note from your murderous brother will do: fry your nerves and fuck with your head.

I should probably be huddled in a dark closet, taking long, measured breaths until this whole thing is over. Instead, I'm at a five-year-old's birthday party, standing in front of a balloon arch that is swiftly losing its battle with the sun and picking at the same plate of food I've been holding for the last hour.

I haven't been eating much at all lately.

Or sleeping.

Or talking to Zane.

It's hard when, every time I look at him, all I can see is Dante's creepy note. And all I can hear is a little voice in my head calling me a dirty rotten liar who lies.

"Friends don't keep secrets from friends!" Rachelle shouts over what I believe is a Kidz Bop cover of Nicki Minaj. I think she might be talking to me and my guilty conscience, but she's over by the juice table shaking Jemma by the shoulders. "Don't be a gatekeeper."

Jemma laughs and shakes her off. "I'm not gatekeeping! I really don't remember where I got the balloon arch for Jalen's party. I'll look back through my email when I'm home."

Another balloon pops and I yelp, spilling half of my plate on the patio.

"Shot!" Davis shouts.

Rachelle just groans. "That stupid thing is going to be gone before we even do cake."

Jace shifts behind his wife, squeezing her shoulders. "Look at Gallagher. Does it look like he cares?"

Aiden and Jalen double-bounce Gallagher so hard that he smashes against the mesh wall face first. His cheeks are squished into a deformed grin before he can right himself and go straight back to bouncing, laughing the entire time.

The kids have been in the bouncy castle since the moment Rachelle opened the sliding glass door and released them into the backyard. We're going to have to drag them out of it when the party is over. They might not even come out for cake.

"No," Rachelle sighs. "He doesn't. But I care. I paid a stupid amount of money for that dumb arch."

"Wait? How much did you pay?" Jace turns to face her just as a pair of muscular arms slip around my waist.

I spasm like I'm being electrocuted and drop the other half of my plate.

"Oh. Shit." Zane laughs, kicking the food into the grass where Davis's dog has been lying in patient, dedicated wait. "Didn't mean to scare you."

I force a smile on my face. "It's okay. I just didn't think anyone was behind me."

"Makes sense. You're being a bit of a wallflower." He kisses my cheek, his stubble scraping over my neck. "A beautiful wallflower. One I've been thinking about… plucking? That sounds weird. Sniffing? No, worse."

I don't have to fake a laugh now.

"I've been thinking about doing whatever sounds sexiest the second we get back home and Aiden has his sugar crash," he hums against my skin. "How about that?"

Before I can respond, another godforsaken fucking balloon pops, and I yet again.

Davis calls for another shot and then frowns down at his dog. "Who in the hell gave Anita little smokies?"

"Who's Anita?" Jace asks.

Davis points at the French bulldog on the ground. "Anita Bone, M.D. I introduced you after I adopted her last month."

"That still doesn't explain why Dr. Bone is at my son's birthday party. I tripped on a hole she dug in the grass."

Davis is denying any and all wrongdoing on behalf of his dog while Jace shows Davis the swelling around his partially rolled ankle, and I'm enjoying the show. But Zane turns me to face him.

"Something is wrong," he accuses.

"I know." I hitch a thumb over my shoulder. "Anita didn't dig that hole. It was Aiden. He used a plastic spoon."

He shakes his head. "Not with them. With you ."

Instantly, the noise of the party dies down. The world fades away. It has a tendency to do that when Zane is looking at me like this.

I want to deny it, but I know it won't do any good.

"Something has been wrong for a few days," he continues. "You think you're hiding it well, but you aren't."

"I don't even think that. It's why I've been avoiding you. Because I knew you'd get it out of me." I blow out a breath. "But it's not you, Zane. It's not about you or Aiden or… us ."

I should tell him. I should've told him the second the note fell out of my duffel bag.

No, I should've told him when I opened my locker and found the psychopath's version of an edible arrangement.

Zane sweeps my hair behind my ear. "I'm not going to force you to talk today. There's enough security around this party that I know for a fact you're safe. But eventually…"

"You won't have to force me. I'll tell you myself." I lean against him, my chin raised so I can look into his eyes. "Just… not today."

I don't want to pop our happy little bubble until I have to.

I know I've never been cared for by anyone the way Zane cares for me. It's not like there's been a lot of competition, not even from my own parents. Still, it's special.

Few people get to be loved by someone like Zane Whitaker. I don't intend to take it for granted.

"Promise me that, if what you're hiding is dangerous, you'll tell someone." He cradles my face gently. "It doesn't even have to be me. Just… tell someone."

I curl my fingers over his. "I promise."

Later, when Zane is busy making sure the boys don't accidentally beat each other with sticks instead of the pi?ata, I keep my promise.

Evan is leaning against the back gate. "Enjoying the party?"

"Oh yeah. Juice boxes and PG-rated covers of songs I used to get hammered to. What's not to love?" I lean against the fence next to him. "Are you having fun?"

He lifts a shoulder, his eyes shifting from the driveway to the street beyond. "I don't think I'm being paid to have fun."

"Right." I dig the toe of my shoe into the dirt, trying to decide the best way to bring this up. After almost no consideration, because I'm too much of a coward and might chicken out if I think about it too hard, I decide to jump straight into it. "I need you to look into something for me."

"Professionally?"

"Yes. I need you to check with the staff at the gym. See if they have any security cameras set up."

"They do," he says, turning to fully face me. "I know they do. Why do you need to see them?"

Whatever I ask, he could report back to Zane. I know that's true. Some part of me is even glad that it's true. Zane and I can both trust Evan, which is why he's good at his job.

But it also means I have to be careful.

"I want to know if Dante has been by," I say plainly.

Still, his shoulders tense. "Is that why you've been skipping kickboxing the last few days? Have you seen him? Do you know where he?—"

"I don't know anything."

"I've been keeping a close eye on things at the gym, but I'll check again," Evan says. "I can ask them for footage and take a closer look, if you're worried."

Zane gets a blindfolded Aiden aimed in the direction of the pi?ata and then turns around, looking for me. Our eyes meet across the lawn, and my insides light up like a switchboard.

"Thanks. It's just a precaution." I manage my first real smile in days. "I'm sure everything will work out just fine."