Page 26 of All Signs Point to Malibu

“She’s not dead. She’s dramatic,” I say, gently kicking her outstretched arm. “Hailstorm, get up.”

Marcus shoots me a look at the insensitivity, then bends next to her. He shakes her shoulder gently. “Hey, lady. You good?”

Hailey’s eyes flutter open. She blinks several times toward the sky, then sits up slowly.

Marcus looks relieved. “Shit, sorry ’bout that.” He stands and extends a hand to help her up.

Hailey reluctantly accepts it as she gets to her feet. She still looks slightly dazed as she stands there, almost in a haze-like state, but then she drops Marcus’s hand as though she’s been torched. Her expression is suddenly one of conflict and...fear? She takes several steps back.

“You cool?” Marcus asks her.

“Fine,” she stammers awkwardly. She stares at him for a long beat, an odd look on her face. “Um...stay out of trouble,” she finally mumbles.

“O-kay,” Marcus says slowly, then hurries off across the field.

Hailey watches him with a seriously weird expression on her face and I study her. “If you’re thinking about pressing assault charges, the ball would have done a hell of a lot more damage if he hadn’t caught it. That thing was going like sixty clicks.”

She finally turns to look at me and shakes her head quickly. “No...yeah, um...okay,” she says rambling and incoherent.

Maybe she did actually die for a moment.

A rare moment of concern for her strikes and I move a step closer. I peer into her eyes for any sign of concussion. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Fine,” she says brusquely. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” she asks, and my spidey senses tell me this won’t be the last of her I see today.

Inside my sweltering vehicle, I struggle to shake off what just happened. Not the body-check that nearly knocked my soul free of my body, but the glimpse I’d had of that kid’s future when he helped me to my feet.

Correction:Glimpses.Plural.

That alternate universe thing has never happened to me before—maybe it’s because I try to avoid glimpsing the future of anyone under twenty-one, or maybe because all my senses had been rocked, or maybe it was because his future is still undefined, but I’d seen two variable futures for this kid. One fantastic. One not so much.

I wonder if Warren knows...

He climbs into his Jeep across the gravel lot and when he pulls into traffic, I follow close in my convertible.

What would I even say to him? He’d never believe me anyway.

I struggle with the moral dilemma as I follow him. The kid could obviously use some guidance, but I don’t take on minors for good reason and the dual glimpse has me freaked out. I’m hoping it’s a one-time occurrence, so I shake it off and focus on keeping Warren’s Jeep in sight through the traffic.

Right now, I have enough to deal with. One problem at a time.

I’ve decided meddling is the right course of action, but Liam and I aren’t all that close anymore. After my party the other night, who knows when we’ll see one another again. Now that he’s engaged, hanging out with me is probably last on his agenda. Sonia likes me, but let’s be real—no woman truly loves the idea of her fiancé being besties with his ex. So, getting on the inside to stop his wedding poses a bit of a challenge. I was hoping with Warren on my side, he could help me talk sense into Liam...but apparently he’s team Sonia.

No surprise there.

At my party, the two of them had danced and laughed the night away. Not that I was watching, but Warren’s annoyingly loud laugh seemed to fill my yard, and there was no escaping him.Heseemed to be keeping an eye onme. Anytime I was near Liam or Sonia, he was there too—like a shadow. It was difficult to get a read on the couple with Warren so close.

To say my game had been thrown off after my glimpse into Liam’s future would be an understatement. I totally neglected the other potential clients in attendance. At least I’d verbally signed Alisha before everything went to shit.

A few moments later, Warren’s Jeep pulls into the parking lot of Malibu Moon, so I pull my convertible into a space several feet away. I see him remove his T-shirt and my mouth dries slightly at the sight of his tanned, muscular body. So, the forearms aren’t the only noteworthy feature. He may not be a pro-athlete anymore, but his body sure as hell didn’t get the memo. I eye the toned chest, wide shoulders, and the six-pack abs—it’s easy to see why women could overlook his personality. He reaches into a bag for a new shirt and puts it on, then he gets out and goes inside.

I wait a second before doing the same.

Inside the hip café full of Gen Z ordering elaborate drinks over blaring pop music, I see Warren slide into a booth across from Liam and Sonia.

I pretend to scan the drink menu at the counter, then casually glance around. I “spot” the group and approach the table.

“Hey, friends! What a coincidence!”

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