Page 38 of Shadow Dance

“You didn’t want coffee?—”

“I had coffee.”

“You didn’t wantmycoffee,” he amends. “And I don’t know … you just seem quiet today.” He shrugs a shoulder, eyebrows raised in question.

“I’m fine,” I murmur, hearting the photo Delphine just sent of her new ring.

Jaime nods once. “Yeah, you’re mad.”

I put my phone away, aware of his gaze as he waits for me to say something, but what is there to say? That I’m frustrated? With him, with Callum, with this whole situation? That I’m secretly planning to leave when the time is right? That I want to trust him but don’t know if I can?

That I have a silly, inconvenient crush on him that I can’t seem toshake, and it hurt a little when he avoided me last week? I can’t unload all of that on Jaime—it would sound crazy. Because it is.

I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. I can’t keep letting my feelings for him cloud my judgment. I don’t have that kind of freedom.

“I'm not mad,” I finally say, giving him a small smile. “I just have a lot on my mind, you know?”

Jaime nods slowly, his eyes searching mine before he looks back to the road. “I’m here if you need to unload.”

“Oh, no. Not that again,” I say with a small laugh.

“What?”

“Last time Iunloaded,I scared you away.”

“What are you talking about?” He chuckles. “Nah.”

“Well, anyway, sharing goes both ways. I’m not going to sit here, spilling my guts, when you’re a closed book,” I say lightly. I mean it, though. If I’m going to tell him my business, there needs to be an exchange.

“If there’s something you wanna know, just ask.”

“Oh, really? You’ll spill all your secrets?”

He freezes, his knuckles whitening against the steering wheel for a split second. It’s over before I really see it, but I know what I saw. “Secrets?”

“Yeah, like what happened last week?” I ask, wondering what secrets he’s thinking about to warrant such an odd reaction. “When we got home, and you pulled aFast & Furiousback down the hill? No one will tell me anything. Do you have any idea how frustrating that is?”

His face smooths. “You should probably talk to Callum about that.”

“Don’t you think I’ve tried?” I say. “Ugh, you know what? Never mind. I’m just his clueless, idiotic girlfriend. Nothing more than a fucking accessory. The couch in the living room knows more than I do at this point.”

“All right, all right,” he says with a tired laugh. “If you really wanna know, I’ll tell you.”

“I really want to know,” I say flatly. “Don’t leave out any details. I mean it.”

“Callum met with some guys that fuck with his uncle’s rival across the bay. I think he thought he could set something up behind his back? Cal said it was okay at first but then they started getting weird about pricing.Things went downhill, and when they threatened him, Griff pulled a gun and told them to get out.” He pulls up to the curb outside my class and turns to me. “I was just getting back to the house with you when I heard gunshots. I figured something was going down, so I backed up real quick and that’s when you woke up.”

“They wereshootingat each other? In our house?” I gape at him. “What the actual fuck?”

“Yeah.” He scratches his head, something I’ve noticed he does when he’s uncomfortable. “I wouldn’t have brought you back there had I known it was going off.”

“Why does he keep bringing people like that over?” I ask, bewildered. “I don’t get it. It’s like he thinks he’s invincible.”

“Mhm.” Jaime nods, obviously agreeing with me even if he won’t say so explicitly.

“And he wants me to stay there with him. It’s insanity.” Sighing, I lean over to pluck my bag from the back seat. “Well, thanks for telling me.

“Don’t tell him I told you,” he says with a little wink.

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