Page 132 of Offside Devil

The parents are starting to clue in that something isn’t right, but with the music and the lights, no one knows what. So the photographer goes on snapping his pictures.

“Are you dating Zane Whitaker?” he demands. “Are you the woman from the photograph? What’s your name, hon?”

I take back every time I thought Zane was being paranoid. He was right; I shouldn’t have told Evan to wait in the car. I shouldn’t have let Aiden out of my sight.

This is all my fault.

“Fuck off,” I spit.

He smirks. “Weird name. Is that first or last?”

Jemma and Rachelle are bouncing towards us. The sight of them leapfrogging trampolines should be funny, but I feel sick. I want to get Aiden out of here, now.

“First,” I bite out, steering Aiden towards the front desk. “Last name: You’reafuckingasshole.”

Someone is talking to a manager and pointing at us. I’ve never been great with authority, but I want someone with a nametag right now. Someone who can punt this jackass out of the building and lock the doors.

I head towards them, but the photographer cuts in front of me.

“It’s all going to come out one way or another. You might as well give me the exclusive,” he warns, snapping another picture. “You can’t hide forever.”

I hear the words in another voice. In a raspy rumble, muffled through the wall of my bedroom. A hiss over a crackling telephone line.

You can’t hide forever, Kitty.

I want to drop to the ground. I want to bury my head between my knees and brace for impact.

They’ve found me. It’s over.

But Aiden needs me. He’s shivering against my side, and I’m the only person standing between him and this creep.

I blink away the memories and shoulder past the photographer. “Don’t fucking touch us.”

Suddenly, a warm arm wraps around my shoulders. I start to jerk away, but then Jemma is in my ear. “There’s a manager’s office behind the front desk. We can lock you both in there.”

On the other side of us, Rachelle is standing between us and the photographer, shepherding him towards the front doors with fire in her eyes.

“You got what you wanted, pal?” she asks. “Do you feel good about yourself, scaring a little kid and ruining a playdate?”

He shrugs. “Kind of.”

“Well, fuck you!” Rachelle shoves him towards the doors where a teenager in a “Security” t-shirt ushers the man onto the sidewalk and closes the doors.

But as he does, I see the crowd gathered outside. People huddled in a semi-circle around the doors, all with their cameras out.

“What in the hell is happening?” I mutter.

“Ignore it, Mira. Don’t look at them. Keep your head down.” Jemma pushes me behind the desk and into the office. Jalen and Gallagher are already inside, loitering around like they’ve done this a million times before.

Do they have some kind of emergency protocol? A code word that sends them scurrying to safety like rats on a sinking ship?

I don’t want that for Aiden. He deserves to be a kid. He deserves to live without fear.

As soon as the door closes, I drop to my knees and pull the jacket off of Aiden’s head. He isn’t crying, but I almost wish he was. Instead, he’s staring at the floor with wide, blue eyes. His lips are pale and he’s shaking.

“Are you okay, buddy?” I try to keep my voice even, but it’s a struggle. My heart is beating out of my chest. “Did he hurt you?”

“He said… He was asking about my mom.” His lip trembles and my heart breaks. Shatters into a million pieces.

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