Page 178 of Offside Devil

I see Mira at the end of the hall. Her dark hair is twisted into a bun on the top of her head. She’s in a pair of leggings and a large shirt. Her arms are wrapped tightly around her body like she’s barely holding herself together.

The doctor pats her on the arm and then turns into another room.

I’ve seen the move before. Mostly in movies. After someone is horribly disfigured in a car accident. Or someone dies.

Once in real life, when Daniel lost his leg.

I’m at her side a second later, breathless. “What’s wrong?”

She blinks up at me like I might not be real. Then, before I can do anything, she launches herself at me. She wraps her arms around my middle and clings tight. “Oh my God. You’re here.”

She’s okay, is my first thought. Followed quickly by, But Aiden isn’t.

I want to hold her against me and go find my son. See both of them at the same time. Know they’re okay. But I grab Mira’s shoulders and hold her away from me. “What’s wrong with Aiden? Where is he?”

She sags. I’ve never seen her look so small. “He’s sleeping. They ran tests and it was bronchitis. I looked that up the other day, but the internet said most cases clear up on their own. I didn’t think anything like this would happen, but then he was turning blue this morning.”

My stomach twists.

“The doctor thinks him being born prematurely could’ve affected how his lungs handled the sickness, but there’s no way to know for sure. But Zane, he was…” Her throat bobs. “I’ve never been so scared.”

“You should have told me.”

Her eyes widen. “I tried! I texted, but then things were getting worse and worse. I didn’t think you’d want me to wait around for you.”

“You knew I was in practice.”

“Which is why I made an executive decision,” she says evenly. “You pay me to take care of him. That’s what I did.”

“I pay you to make him snacks and take him to the fucking park, not make medical calls on my behalf.”

Her brows pinch together. “Are you seriously mad at me right now? Aiden’s oxygen levels were low when he got here. He was barely breathing. He couldn’t even stay awake. Was I supposed to sit around and wait for you to get out of practice?”

“You were supposed to get in touch with me!” I roar. “I wasn’t in a fucking bunker in the middle of nowhere! I was twenty minutes away. I could have been here with him.”

Mira shrinks back against the wall.

Distantly, I remember that she’s scared of confrontation. Yelling triggers her. But I can’t lower my voice; I can’t back off.

My son was in danger today and I wasn’t there for him… because of her. If I wasn’t trying to avoid Mira, I would’ve come home sooner.

If I wasn’t so distracted with trying to sort through her lies, maybe I would’ve noticed how sick Aiden was getting before he got so bad his lips turned blue.

I let Mira into my heart, into my bloodstream. I’ve been so focused on her that I let Aiden fall through the cracks. I’m not using again, but addiction is addiction.

I have to root it out or I’m going to lose control.

“You should go.”

Mira’s mouth falls open. “You’re kidding.”

“Believe it or not, I’m not in a joking mood right now,” I bite out. “I don’t want you here.”

Fucking hell, I wish that were true.

“I tried to get in touch with you. I tried to—” She shakes her head. “I don’t believe this. I don’t—What is this really about?” She snaps her green eyes to mine. They look golden in the overhead lights. “This isn’t about today or about Aiden. This is about what’s going on between me and you.”

I bark out a bitter laugh. “Now, you want to talk about it? Fucking figures.”

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