Page 14 of Hidden Echoes

“Yeah, he’s helping me shower,” Mia pipes up from behind me, grinning like the sun just rose in her mind. The innocent smile doesn’t sit right, not with the blood staining her skin, and certainly not with the situation she’s got us in.

Carter stares at me, trying to piece things together. It takes him a while to warm up to strangers.

“We should be on the road right now, Zane. Can you lose the girl?” he asks flatly, and I feel a knot twist in my stomach.

“I can’t,” I mutter, not even sure how to explain this.

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“I—I wish I could explain why Mia ended up naked in your house, but even I don’t know,” I start, moving to cover her with a towel. “You. Shower. Alone.”

I point to the door on her left, and after a moment of confusion, Mia just nods and goes with it, like it’s no big deal.

I turn to Carter, who now seems to finally notice the blood covering Mia. His eyes widen in shock, his expression hardening into one of disbelief.

“Do I really want to know why you have a fucking naked girl covered in blood in my house?” he asks, and I wince.

“She’s the coma girl,” I say, and then I take a deep breath, running through the events of my day. The mess, the confusion, Mia’s strange behavior—everything that’s led me here.

Carter’s always been my business partner, the one I can count on for the studio, but I can’t remember the last time we’ve talked about anything deeper than work. Hell, he doesn’t even know the half of my life.

“Fuck,” he mutters, after I finish the rundown.

“I’m still going to LA,” I add quickly, though it sounds more like a concession than a plan. “But I’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow instead of today. I need to set Mia up to travel with me.”

Carter looks at me, eyes narrowing in disbelief. “Are you fucking insane?”

“I don’t have a choice,” I mutter, hoping to sound more certain than I feel. “I can’t say no to Charlie. You know how she is.”

I lie. I could say no. I could stand my ground. But Charlie wants to involve my brother, and that’s one thing I can’t let happen.

Carter sighs, shaking his head. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Zane,” he says, and I don’t reply because there’s nothing left to say.

The truth is, I don’t have it figured out.

I can’t have my family meddling in my life. I’ve spent years building this—being this—on my own. I don’t intend to change that now. But deep down, I know this is a mess. And I’m the one who walked right into it.

CHAPTER 4

ZANE

It’s been Two hours.Two. Whole. Hours.

How long does it take someone to shower? I’m no expert on women, but twenty minutes feels excessive. And Mia… well, she doesn’t exactly seem like the kind of girl who’s obsessively lathering conditioner or contemplating the mysteries of the universe under the hot water.

Still, I gave her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she’s just enjoying a moment to herself. After all, it’s probably her first hot shower in a while, considering she’s been stuck in a hospital for God knows how long. But now… now, I’m starting to worry. What if she slipped and hit her head? Or, worse, what if she managed to drown somehow? Is that even possible in a shower?

I knock on the bathroom door, trying not to sound too impatient. “Mia? You good in there?”

Silence.

A sinking feeling churns in my gut. She’s dead.

She’s definitely dead.

I knock again, harder this time. “Mia? Say something.”

Still nothing.

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