Page 49 of Beneath the Surface

Cruz nodded, and together, we both looked down.

Grayson:

I need to talk to all of you. ASAP

One thing was for sure. We were being watched at all times now.

29

MICAH

We all stared at each other in silence. Ava shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. Her hair blew across her face in the breeze, hiding her expression from me, but I knew she was just as unnerved as I was.

“Why here?” Cruz voiced what we were all thinking. The breeze picked up, ripples appearing on the surface of the murky gray water, the trees behind us rustling almost ominously.

Grayson threw his arms out, gesturing toward the lake. “Because we need answers. Because this is the place where it all happened. Because I’m fucking sick of this asshole fucking with us. Because that message I received was a clear threat. Happy Halloween, Grayson, and a picture of my house. It couldn’t be clearer than that.” His eyes were wild, his hand tugging agitatedly at his hair as he paced up and down the tiny, rocky beach we were standing on.

Cruz moved lightning fast, darting in front of Grayson, making him pull up short. They glared at one another, and I rolled my eyes despite my apprehension.

“This isn’t just about you. We’re all invited to that party.”

“No shit, Sherlock. Why do you think I asked you all to meet me here today? I’m concerned about us all—yes, even you—and don’t come at me with shit about you being able to handle yourself. I know you can, but we don’t know what we’re up against.”

After a moment where Cruz studied Grayson intently, he exhaled sharply and stepped back. “Okay. You have us here, so what’s your plan?”

“I want to reenact that night. See if there’s anything we missed. It was dark then…who the fuck knows what we saw or what we actually did? Our searches have turned up nothing, and if something is planned for the Halloween party, then I want us to be as prepared as possible.”

I startled when Ava leaned into me, her breaths coming fast in my ear, and I realized how affected she was by Grayson’s suggestion. I didn’t hesitate, slipping my arm around her waist. Cruz’s gaze slid to Ava, then to me, and his mouth curved into a slow smile. He moved to stand on Ava’s other side, curling his own arm around her shoulders. When his fingertips brushed my shoulder, I returned his smile with a tentative one of my own. This felt weirdly good, and right. We were both providing comfort to Ava, and at the same time, we were providing comfort to each other.

Grayson bit down on his lip, something that looked like hurt flashing in his gaze, before he abruptly turned away. “Let’s go,” he commanded, striding away without looking to see if any of us were following.

“Gray,” Ava called after him, but he didn’t respond. She sighed, laying her head briefly on Cruz’s shoulder—and when had they become so comfortable around each other?—before speaking again. “Come on. None of us wants to do this. Grayson doesn’t want to do this either. But he’s right. We need to go into this party with our eyes wide open.”

“I hate it when you make sense,” Cruz muttered, but he disentangled himself from her after giving my shoulder one last squeeze. “Come on, then, princess. Let’s get this over with.” Lifting his hand, he tilted her chin upward with his finger, and then lowered his head to brush a quick kiss over her lips. She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, and he grinned down at her. “A kiss for good luck.”

My heart pounded at the sight.

When Cruz lifted his head, his grin widened, and he strode over to me. Our eyes met, and before I knew what was happening, his lips met mine for a brief moment. I gasped, my eyes widening. What the fuck was happening right now? Ignoring Cruz’s knowing smirk and fighting against the tiny part of me that wanted him to kiss me again, I turned to see Ava watching us thoughtfully.

“Micah,” she said, and then she kissed me quickly. “Extra luck.”

Oh, yes, I liked this. A lot.

Her hand slipped into mine, and as we began to follow after Grayson, I realized Cruz was holding her other hand. It was a comfort thing rather than anything else, but it felt good, and it meant that I didn’t have to focus on what we were about to do.

We reached the jetty where there was a speedboat tied up, bobbing in the water. There was a Jet Ski next to it, all ready to go. Grayson was standing at the end of the jetty, his arms folded across his chest and an unreadable expression on his face.

He’s so hot.

The thought flashed through my mind, and it was immediately followed by a stomach-churning sense of guilt. Ithadbeen hurt I’d seen in his eyes earlier, hadn’t it? Of course it had. The three of us had presented a united front, and he hadn’t been a part of it. As I looked more closely, I could see howtightly his jaw was clenched, his throat working as he suppressed whatever he wanted to say.

“Fuck,” Ava whispered next to me, her gaze following mine, and I knew she’d come to the same conclusion I had. It was unlikely that Cruz cared, given the fact that there was no love lost between them, but for the two of us…our relationships with Grayson Cross were more complicated.

“Ava, Micah, you’re in the boat. Martinez, Jet Ski. Circle round to your original position,” he said in a low, even voice, and the control he must’ve exerted to be able to react so calmly…it was yet another reason he was the captain of the hockey team.

Cruz released Ava’s hand, and then he straddled the Jet Ski, prepping it and starting it up with a roar. He steered it carefully away from the jetty before he shot off around the right-hand side of the lake.

Ava and I climbed into the boat, taking our seats, while Grayson busied himself with untying it and doing whatever he was doing behind the wheel. He didn’t look at either of us, and Ava huffed out a soft breath before moving to the front of the boat, careful not to rock it.

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