Page 24 of Seeking Shadows

I let her lead me out of there. We drive back to the mansion, and I can tell she’s terrified, even though she tries to hide it.

“No one will touch you,” I tell her, voice firm, but she looks at me like I’m the one who’s lost it.

“That’s not what worries me…” Her voice wavers. “If Nico finds out…”

“He won’t do anything. He’s desperate for Mitchell’s help.”

“This will end badly. You should go home.” Her words slice through me, the weight of them heavy in the air.

“Will you come home with me?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

“You know I can’t. I’m in his sights again.”

“Your sister will protect you. Your brother will protect you. I’ll protect you.”

“No one needs to protect me,” she snaps, her tears falling freely now. “I don’t want anyone I love to die trying to protect me, okay? I don’t want that. If Nico finds out the truth… if he kills you…” She stops, and I watch her break in a way I’ve never seen.

Mia, strong, energetic, always carrying the weight of the world with a smile, is crumbling before me.

“I have nowhere else to go,” I say, my words raw, pleading. “You can ask me anything, but don’t ask me to leave.”

She doesn’t answer. Her tears continue to fall as she steps into the mansion, peeling off my blood-streaked suit like it’s something foreign.

I don’t know how to explain it, but somehow, in the midst of all this, I found a way to understand why Mia did what she did. And even though it eats me up inside that she killed my friend, I can’t bring myself to turn my back on her. The anger is there—strong, sharp, like a knife I can’t pull out. This whole situation? It’s a mess, a twisted fucking mess that makes my chest tight just thinking about it.

But even in all this rage and confusion, there’s something in me that refuses to walk away. I want her back. God, I want her back. And I want answers, I want to know what drove her to this.

But... I can’t shake the feeling that no matter how much this hurts, I’m not ready to let her go. It doesn’t mean the frustration doesn’t sting.

It doesn’t mean I’m not pissed off.

But in the end, none of that changes what’s in here—what’s deep inside me. I can’t give up on her, no matter what.

“Our current situation is impossible, Zane, I’m in a mess,” she says, her voice trembling but trying to stay strong.

“We’re in a mess, in sickness and in health,” I reply, my words low, heavy with the weight of everything between us. I try to believe it, to convince myself it means something.

“Even if I killed your friend?” She challenges, her eyes locking with mine, searching for the truth in my face.

I look down, the truth twisting in my gut. The honest answer is, I don’t have an answer for that. It’s not black and white. It’s never been that simple with her.

“Fuck, Mia…” I rub my hand over my face, trying to push the weight of it all out. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to say. I’m so pissed, I’m so fucking hurt—" My voice cracks, and for a second, it feels like I can’t breathe. "But I’m still here, aren’t I? Still standing right in front of you. What does that say?”

"Maybe it says you're a fucking idiot," she murmurs, almost to herself, but I hear it.

“We are.”

“So, this is how you felt when I killed someone?” she murmurs. “Because I feel… disturbed. This is the exact opposite of not drawing attention to yourself.”

I wipe the blood from my face, eyes scanning the mess on my shirt. “No one cares. People do this shit all the time,” I mutter, my words empty. “Besides, Reign was a real hothead.”

“You sound like you knew him.”

“I did.” The admission comes with a weight, one I never expected to carry. “I hunted him down. And I killed him.”

My own words shock me, but they spill out like they’ve always belonged to me.

She stares at me in disbelief. “Wow,” she whispers, shaken.

---