Page 184 of Without a Trace
I waited until the door clicked shut, then turned to her.
“You and Zeke—are you a thing?”
She raised a brow, half amused. “We have history. Complicated. He was tipsy and asked me over. That’s all.”
I nodded. It wasn’t the answer I expected.
But honestly? They’d be a cute couple.
Dark and dangerous meets brunette bombshell chaos. The kind of pairing that would burn fast and wreck everything in its path.
I believed her, though.
Still, the sight of her in his shirt had rattled something.
I moved to the edge of the small table, bracing my palms against the cool wood.
“There’s something wrong with me,” I said.
Brielle didn’t flinch. Just waited.
“I’ve been dreaming… things. About the Red Veil. About him.”
That made her still.
“My father,” I clarified, breath catching. “He’s older. Clearer than I’ve ever remembered him. Not the ghost version. Not the blur from birthday cards or hospital beds. This was sharp. Alive. And he spoke to me.”
Brielle’s eyes held mine, unblinking.
“He comes to me in dreams¸—but they feel real.”
“They are, ” she said softly. “In a way.”
I stood straighter, heart thudding. “So he’s alive.”
Brielle didn’t nod. Didn’t deny it either.
“You’ve seen him,” I said.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” she murmured. “But yes. He’s alive.”
The air left my lungs.
All these years, I thought he was dead.
A man whispered in grief. A ghost trapped in memory.
“I want to see him,” I said. “I want the truth. I want everything.”
Brielle exhaled, folding her arms. “Scarlett… if I take you to him, that’s it. There’s no pretending after. No slipping back into the life you had. You don’t come back untouched.”
“I’m done pretending.”
She looked at me for a moment. “The boys will lose their goddamn minds.”
“They already have.”
That earned the faintest curve of her mouth. “They’ll come after you.”
