Page 173 of Dare To Live

His expression is sad, and it makes my heart hurt. He lost so much. So many people that he loved. All because of Evan Ridley.

The words Zoey Rivers are carved across the marble headstone. There are flowers beneath it, and my steps falter at the sight of them. The pale white petals of the lilies are bright against the starkness of the stone, and they are wrapped in familiar black paper.

Cold rolls through me at the sight of them.

“Fuck.”

“They’ve been here,” I whisper.

“Someone else could have left them. Everyone knows lilies are her favorite.”

“The wrapping paper is the same. There’s no way that’s a coincidence.”

His arm curves around my waist, and he pulls me into the protection of his chest. “It’s just mind games, Ari. Whoever it is, they want to frighten us.”

“You’re right.” I push away from Eli.

“I’m done being scared,” I shout. “Do you hear me? It ends now. I’m not playing your game anymore. Send your flowers. Your chess pieces. You don’t have power over me…over us anymore. No more. We’re done.”

I turn in a circle, my gaze scanning over the graves and trees, back to the parking lot. A man dressed all in black is leaning against a car, looking in our direction. He’s too far to make out his features. Suspicion circles through my head.

“Hold these.” I shove the bouquet of roses into Eli’s arms.

“Ari?”

I take off back along the path at a sprint. I reach the parking lot just as the man drives off in a black sedan. My gaze narrows on the license plate. I grab my phone and take a photograph as it drives away.

“What the actual fuck are you doing?” Eli snaps.

I turn, shoving my cell back in my pocket. “Someone was watching us. I got the plate number.”

He’s still clutching the roses for Zoey. “So, you just took off after them?”

“I thought I could see who it was.”

“In case it was Evan’s minion?”

I nod. “It was worth a try.”

“You just run blindly toward danger?” His voice is clipped, angry.

“They ran away.”

He swears under his breath. “And what if he hadn’t?”

I shrug. “I would have kicked his ass.”

Eli scowls. “Jesus fucking Christ. You are not Wonder Woman. You don’t have superpowers, and you are not fucking indestructible. What if he’d had a gun?”

His eyes are flashing with anger, and his face is pale.

I’ve just scared the shit out of the Monster of Churchill Bradley Academy.

Chapter 98

Eli

My fucking heart is hammering against my ribs like a bird trying to escape a cage, and I’m struggling to contain the fear and anger her mad dash across the cemetery roused in me.

---