Page 158 of Teacher's Pet

Backing away from my friends, I push through the bar’s exit, spilling into the cold night air. My breaths come fast, uneven, my hands shaking as I fumble with my phone, trying and failing, to order an Uber through the blur of tears clouding my vision.

Then, my screen lights up with a single message.

I ordered you an Uber. My place. I'll see you there shortly.

Noah.

My pulse stutters. My body feels like it’s about to collapse, the weight of everything pressing down so hard I can barely stand.

I have no way out.

No escape.

All I have now is Noah.

The problem is, we’re both staring down the barrel of a loaded gun.

Chapter 29

Anastasia

His door is unlocked.

My hand trembles as I turn the knob, my body moments away from breaking under the weight of everything that’s happened tonight.

If they get what they want, if Jake, Walker, and Cole succeed, not only will I be arrested for a murder I didn’t commit, but Noah… Noah will be trapped in a life he never wanted. A life of crime, of control, of being nothing more than a pawn in his brother’s sick game.

And if they don’t throw him under the bus for us?

Then they’ll bury him another way.

We’re backed into a corner. Everything around us is imploding, the walls closing in faster than I can think.

And the Briars? What fucking grief do Cole and the others have with them?

I know Roman Briar is a powerful man, but how powerful? Enough to be a real threat to someone as twisted as Noah’s brother? What business is he really in?

Does Mrs. Briar know?

Lost in thought, I step inside, barely registering the relief of not seeing Walker’s car in the parking lot.

Then I stop.

My breath catches in my throat.

Noah’s apartment is filled with flowers.

Dozens of roses, their colors deep and varied, line the room, breathing life into the usually bleak space. Candles flicker, their soft glow casting warm shadows along the walls, the scent of wax and petals intertwining. The fireplace crackles, its roaring flames a stark contrast to the chaos clawing at my mind.

Cautiously, I move toward the couch.

And then I see it.

A note.

Lying on the table, waiting for me.

My heart fractures and mends all at once as I pick it up, hands unsteady as I read.

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