Page 64 of Gathered Sparkle

“Wrong.” Koen shakes his head. “We definitely should.”

“What?” I blink at him. “How does that make any sense?”

“We get close.” Koen gestures toward the phone. “Make her feel as though we trust her. Go along with whatever plans she wants us to. Having her trust us will make getting the evidence and pulling off the new show so much easier.”

“New show?” Nicholas asks.

“Yeah. We only need the evidence for Oscar’s murder and to tweak some stuff we had already planned for the Christmas show when he…” Koen pauses.

When Oscar died.

“Anyway,” he continues. “The evidence is crucial. We have most of what we need otherwise.”

There’s a beat of silence before Nicholas speaks again. “I’ll see what I can do. But the game plan for tomorrow is cozying up with her, I guess?”

“Exactly,” Koen agrees.

“Good. I’ll have to keep up the façade with you guys, though, or it’ll be too obvious.”

“Façade, huh?” Koen smirks. “You back to liking me,Snickers?”

“You always thought too much of yourself,Copy.”

I glance between the man in front of me and my phone.What the hell is going on?

Koen chuckles, shaking his head. “See you tomorrow, dickhead.”

“Yeah,” Nicholas agrees, then his voice drops mockingly. “Eat shit.”

The line goes dead, and Koen lets out an audible breath, seeming to think over the conversation. I do the same, though only one fact keeps turning over in my mind.

She wants them dead.

“Do you think…” I start, hesitating. “Do you think she wants to kill you? You and Levi?”

“I don’t know, Little Thief.” Koen’s eyes soften as he looks at me, but there’s no denying the seriousness in them. “Maybe.Probably.”

A shiver runs through me. “This is all insane. I don’t even know how we’re supposed to pull this off. I mean, having Nicholas on our side is good, but—”

Before I can spiral further, Koen is in my space, his hands cupping my face moments before his lips are on mine. Despite its start, it’s not rushed or desperate. The kiss is firm and steady like he’s trying to pour all his calm into me. His thumbs caress my cheekbones, and his hair mingles with mine. After several perfect kisses, I realize that my mind has quieted, narrowing to only him.

As if he senses the realization, he pulls back, his thumbs brushing over my cheeks one more time. “We’re going to figure it out. Having Nicholas on our side is a game-changer. This is good, Novalee.” His hands slide down the sides of my neck as his gaze holds mine. “I promise.”

I nod, swallowing hard as I absorb his certainty. Now that he’s untangled my mind, new questions form. “Do you think you guys could ever… be friends again? You and Nicholas?”

Koen huffs as his hands ghost down my arms and drop to his sides. “I never stopped being his friend,” he says quietly. “I just… stopped acting like one. I had to pick Levi over him.” His gaze flicks toward the door as if he somehow knows which direction his twin might be in. “And I’d still pick Levi.Every time.” His attention returns to me, but his eyes are stormy. “But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt to lose Nico.”

It’s clear the conflict still weighs on him, even after all these years. It’s written in the subtle drop of his shoulders, the way he tries to hide the ache by glancing away from me when I try to look more closely.

“Koen,” I softly say when he doesn’t meet my eyes again, and I brush my fingers against his arm, wanting to comfort him but unsure how.

He shakes his head, then offers me a small, strained smile. “It’s fine. We’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

It’s not fine. I can see that. But instead of pressing, I cast my gaze around the room for something to shift the energy and notice the guitars hanging neatly on the wall.

“Those are yours?” I ask as I grab his arm and pull him with me toward them.

“Yeah,” he replies, apparently back to single-word answers.

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