Page 141 of Scattered Glitter

“Yeah, she’s probably still pissed,” I mutter, more to myself than to the group.

Ezra sighs, seemingly unfazed, but his posture is clearly defensive. “Look, I don’t think she needs to know the full extent of everything.”

“You’re the one who said she could be trusted, Ez.” Sylus straightens and leans forward, his words growing more impassioned. “She’s in this now, and if we don’t tell her the truth, it’ll come back to bite us.”

“I said she can be trusted with what she needs to know,” Ezra snaps back. “There is no need to lie. That doesn’t mean she has to knoweverything.None of us truly know her.”

“Speak for your fucking self,” Sylus almost growls. “Iknow her.”

“All right,” Koen pipes in for the first time, looking around the room. “Here’s what I suggest. We all meet up with her tomorrow morning. We talk, give hersomething. And Ezra, you can gauge her for whateverunknown dangeryou still think she’s carrying.” He grins, and Ezra’s eyes narrow.

“Fine.” Sylus huffs, his gaze still pinned on Ezra. “Only if he doesn’t lay a hand on her to do so.”

“Fine.” Ezra scoffs, mirroring Sylus’s tone, crossing his arms over his chest. “In the Lane Building. I don’t want her here.”

“Works for me,” Koen agrees, looking at me with that steady, assessing gaze. “What about you, Alaric? You coming?”

I think about it, but my stomach twists immediately at the thought of leaving the house, especially with her in the mix.

Texting is safer.

“No, I don’t think you need me for this.”

I’m a pussy.

I know that.

“She’s proven she can do what we need her to do. The only thing that might get in her way… are her nerves.”

And I know plenty about that too.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Novalee

It’s only ten in the morning, but I’ve been up for hours, my nerves wound too tight to sleep. The mirror reflects a mask of confidence, but beneath it, I’m a fucking mess. Today has to go well. Nicholashas toshow up.

I lean over the bathroom sink, carefully blending foundation over the faint bruise on my cheek as I perfect myno-makeupmakeup look. Covering the reminder of everything that went down is easy, the makeup hiding the faint bruise well enough, but it’s not so easy for the memory.

I exhale, taking in the way the black long-sleeved crop top hugs my curves, showing the right amount of cleavage to be distracting, while high-waisted leggings elongate my legs. Confident but casual, that’s the look I’m aiming for, even if my insides feel like a shaken snow globe. Running my fingers through the ponytail tied high on my head, I try to push the anxiety down.

My plan to cross paths with Nicholas at Fitness First isn’t perfect. Hell, it barely even qualifies as aplan, but it seems the most natural way to grab his attention without appearing desperate. Levi said he was a himbo, and I’mcounting on that. The tiny hint about where I’d be today slipped casually into a conversation he wasn’t part of should be enough of a hook.

What if it wasn’t?

Doubt tugs at me, and I pause, brush poised over my lips. It’s possible I was too subtle in my hints, or maybe he didn’t even hear me. The hours off yesterday after Sylus brought me home left way too much room for overthinking the what-ifs and spiraling. I draw in a breath, willing my racing thoughts to settle.

If Nicholas comes, I’ll flirt, play it cool, and see where it leads.

If he doesn’t, then I’ll improvise. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to adapt on the fly, and I’m damn good at it.

I take a deep breath. Then another. My fingers itch for something that can steady me—a blunt, a drink, anything to dull the edge. Instead, I force my fingers to find the bracelet Koen gave me, tracing its edges. Just thinking of him makes my heart do a little flip, and I hate that it does.

Why am I even clinging so hard to this?

I could tell the twins to fuck off, walk away from this tangled web ofapparentdanger and deception, and continue scraping together some semblance of a life on my terms as I had been.

Kind of.

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