Page 181 of Red Zone
I shake my head and stop in front of him, crossing my arms.
“Having fun?” I ask, loud enough for him to hear over the music.
His eyes snap to me, wide, like I just caught him committing a crime.
“Yeah,” he says quickly. Too quickly. “Totally. Fun. Good time.”
The girl next to him giggles and leans into his shoulder, twirling a piece of her hair around her finger.
I raise a brow at him. “You look like you’re being held hostage.”
That earns me a glare, but even he can’t keep up the act.
I clap him on the shoulder and nod toward the door.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
He doesn’t argue.
We weave through the crowd, him muttering something about how she was probably crazy anyway as I open the door and let the cold air hit us.
By the time we make it to the sidewalk, the thump of bass from the house is already fading into the quiet of the street.
Beck shoves his hands into his hoodie pocket and exhales, his breath fogging in the air.
“Thanks,” he says after a beat.
I glance at him, smirking faintly.
“Anytime. You looked like you were about five seconds away from faking a phone call.”
He actually laughs at that, shaking his head.
“Yeah, well,” he says with a shrug. “Guess I’m not ready to…you know. Move on. Not yet.”
I don’t say anything right away, just shove my hands in my pockets and keep walking beside him.
Because if I’m being honest…
Neither am I.
46
LYLA
Friday the Thirteenth.
I’ve never been superstitious.
But after this morning? I may have to reconsider.
It starts with an email.
Subject: Need to see you in my office ASAP.
From: Megan Talbot
The timestamp is 7:02 a.m.
