Page 83 of Offside Angel

When it’s time for Daniel to go, he is halfway to the door when he turns around and pulls me into a tight hug.

“What is this for?” I ask, my words muffled against his shoulder.

“I’ve always wanted a sister, and you’re gonna be the closest thing I’ll ever have.” Daniel pulls back, another sappy smile on his face. “And that’s fine by me.”

I turn into one of those chocolate lava cakes: stone-cold on the outside, but an ooey-gooey pile of mush on the inside. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He claps me on the shoulder. “Now, I need to go track down the woman I’d love to make my girlfriend. Catch you on the flip, Mirabel.”

Daniel leaves, and I realize he did a better job of distracting me than I thought he would. I haven’t thought about Dante all day, and by the time I meet Evan in the parking garage to get Aiden from school, I am in a certifiably good mood.

I walk around to the driver’s door and knock on the glass. Evan rolls down the window, one eyebrow arched.

“Mind if I drive?” I ask. “I kind of miss it.”

He studies me for a couple seconds before he hands the keys through the window. “Sure, why the heck not?”

The answer to that question is that his SUV might as well be a cruise ship and I haven’t driven so much as a shopping cart in weeks, but it still feels good to get behind the wheel.

“You’re a natural,” Evan lies, gripping the door handle with white knuckles.

When his phone rings, he has to force himself to let go to answer it.

“Hello, this is Evan.” He nods and hums along with whatever the other person is saying. Then, suddenly, he goes rigid. “When was the last time?”

I try to stay focused on the road, but it’s hard when the hair on the back of my neck is standing tall.

I know what this call is about before he even hangs up.

“Dante?” I ask in a whisper, afraid to say it too loud and ruin this surprisingly good day.

“That was the security guard at the gym. They watched the footage and… It was him, Mira. Dante was at the gym. He left the note in your locker. He…” He looses a weary breath and tosses his phone in the cupholder. “He found you.”

I open my mouth to say something. I’m not sure if I need to comfort Evan or myself, but there’s no time.

There’s only a blur of motion.

A screech of tires.

His door caves in. The giant SUV twists and turns like we’re in a garbage disposal.

Then everything goes black.

31

ZANE

“You didn’t actually need your spare keys, did you?” Daniel asks. “Because I did not grab them.”

I shift my phone between my chin and my shoulder so I can keep signing the unreal stack of team posters in front of me. There’s some kind of fundraiser for the children’s hospital coming up. The first thousand people to donate twenty dollars get an autographed poster, I guess. I don’t know the details; I just know I’m supposed to put my name on all of them, and this beats doing more press.

“I did not need my keys.”

“Ha!” Daniel crows. “I knew it. I told Mira that.”

“You were supposed to be discreet.”

I could tell Mira was more freaked out about a possible Dante appearance than she wanted to admit, and I didn’t want her to be alone all day. Since all the girls were busy, I sent in my fourth choice: Daniel.

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