Page 133 of Offside Devil

I pull him against my chest and hold him, shushing him the way I wish someone would shush me. I’m not equipped to deal with this.

I have no fucking idea what to say.

My phone rings. I know without looking who it is. I feel it in my bones the way cows know when it’s going to rain and cats know when someone is about to die.

I answer my phone and press it to my ear. “Zane?”

He sighs in relief. “Mira.”

And I sob.

52

ZANE

I’m going to murder whoever did this.

“Evan already texted me,” I say as Mira’s breathing wobbles and breaks in my ear. “He’s bringing the car around back. You are both going to be out of there in a couple minutes.”

Daniel leans out of the film room. “Is everything okay?”

I shake my head.

There’s no point in lying. Coach was talking directly to me, breaking down some play from a game I can’t even remember, when my heart started beating this fast, and I sprinted out of the room. I didn’t have a choice—Evan’s text tapped into my most basic instincts.

A photographer cornered Aiden. Mira got him away.

They were in danger, and I wasn’t there.

I wasn’t fucking there.

For the first time in his whole damn life, Daniel doesn’t ask any questions. He must be able to see on my face that I’m not in a place to answer them. He just nods. “I’ll tell the team you aren’t coming back.”

“I’m so s-sorry, Zane,” Mira stammers. “It happened so fast. He was playing and then I heard—He screamed. I should have been there. I ran to him, but I?—”

“This was not your fault,” I interrupt. “Do you hear me? You didn’t do this. None of this is your fault.”

Mira sniffles, and I hate that I’m not there. I despise that I didn’t get the chance to bash that photographer’s head in with his own camera.

Murder isn’t good enough for the asshole responsible. I’m going to rip him apart piece by tiny piece, nurse him back to health, and then do it again.

“Aiden is safe,” I say, as much for her sake as mine. I know it’s true. If Aiden wasn’t safe, it would’ve been the first thing out of Mira’s mouth. I know how much she loves him.

“He’s safe,” she confirms, blowing out a deep breath. There are voices in the background. “They’re saying Evan is here. Are we okay to leave with him right now? There were reporters out front. Should I wait for you?”

Part of me wants her to wait. I pay Evan to take care of them, but I still don’t trust anyone but myself to get them safely out of that building.

“You can go with him,” I force out. “I’m leaving here now. I’ll meet you at home.”

“Okay.” Her voice sounds so small. Nothing like the fierce, tough woman I’m used to. “I’ll see you soon.”

I’m running down the hall before I even hang up.

Not soon enough.

Hollis calls me five minutes later. “We’re going to ignore the fact that you didn’t tell me you have a son,” he starts. “We’re also going to ignore that photo of you shirtless that’s currently bouncing around the internet. I have a feeling it’s about to be buried by a much bigger story.”

Jace showed me the picture this morning. Mira’s face was hidden by her dark hair, which is all I really cared about. And even if CPS wanted to use the picture as evidence against me, it’s blurry enough that no one could ID me for sure.

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