Page 42 of Love Me Dangerous

She cocks her hip and stares me down. “No. Zach, why are you so upset?”

“Because I can’t make this work if my name gets out.”

“Make what work?”

Shit. I didn’t mean to let that slip. Another reason why I need to get out of here. I lean back against the building and release a hard breath into the night. The puff of condensation clears, revealing pale stars in the dark sky.

“You hold on tight to the people you care about,” I say.

She crosses her arms and fixes me with a steady scowl. “Yeah, but?—”

“You’d do anything for them, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“It’s the same for me.”

Her eyes turn pained. “Your family?”

The thought of packing everything up and stealing into the night so I don’t have to say goodbye to the Huttons is like an ice pick to my brain.

But it’s the right thing to do. I’ve gotten too soft here. Too complacent.

“You want me to talk to him?” Her voice sounds different. Higher. Like she’s frightened.

“That’s probably exactly what he wants.” I push off the wall. I need to keep moving. Think this through.

“He won’t mess with you if I tell him to back off.”

“Why would he listen?” The second I ask it, I know the answer. “I thought he was your ex.”

“He is.” She tucks a stray curl behind her ear. “It’s complicated.”

My core hardens into a tight knot. “Uncomplicate it for me.”

Her lips press together and she drops her head, as if focusing on the pavement is going to make what she has to share easier somehow. “He was there for me when my mom left. First, as a friend. We dated for awhile, but it’s over. I know he can be a jerk, but he’s helped me… help Jesse.”

I tuck away that little fact about her mom for later. “What’s wrong with Jesse?”

“I’m not sure.” Her heavy sigh echoes through my bones. “I thought it was getting better, but since the accident…”

My anger at her brother’s recklessness fires through me, and thanks to how spun up I am right now, it’s hard to dial it back.

“Gabe got a DUI taken off Jesse’s record so our dad didn’t find out.”

It sounds manipulative as fuck to me. “In exchange, he acts like a caveman?”

Her eyes soften, the blue edged with violet in the low light. “Think what you want about me. I was desperate to keep my brother safe. To keep my family together.”

I rub my face with my palm. “I don’t mean to judge. I’m sorry.” My insides feel shredded and raw, and I don’t like it because there’s nothing I can do to make it better. I shouldn’t care who Sofie’s been with, and I shouldn’t care that he obviously hasn’t let her go. But I do care, and it’s aggravating as fuck.

“Why do I feel like if I let you leave, I’m never going to see you again?”

I give her a look. “Let me, huh?”

She scoffs. “Can I at least give you a ride?”

“And let you miss out on the party?” I nod toward The Limelight.

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