Page 179 of Midnights
Not now.
Panic claws at my throat and I ball my fists like that'll trick anyone into thinking I've got this under control. The ringing in my ears gets louder. Ilock onto the cold air, Kane's hand in mine, anything that isn't the spiral threatening to eat me alive.
I take a deep breath and open my eyes. That's when I see a woman standing in the shadows, watching me.
My steps halt immediately, and my stomach twists into knots as soon as our eyes meet. For a fraction of a second, her expression shifts and a smile spreads across her face.
My grip on Kane tightens, stopping him mid-step, but the second I look back at her, she’s gone. Vanished into the night like she was never there.
My pulse pounds as I scan the shadows, searching for any trace of her. Maybe she went around the corner?
Kane’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “What’s wrong?”
I force my eyes back to him and I can feel my heart hammering against my ribs. “Nothing,” I say quickly, but the slight tremor in my voice betrays me. “I just thought I saw someone standing over there.”
I nod toward the spot, still scanning the darkness, half-expecting her to reappear, half-terrified she actually will. Kane follows my line of sight, and I feel the shift before I even look at him. The relaxed amusement from earlier is gone, replaced with something colder. His eyes flicker across the area scanning every shadow, every possible movement, assessing the space with a lethal efficiency.
“Whoever it was, they’re long gone,” he says finally, though the weight in his tone tells me he isn’t convinced.
Neither am I.
His eyes linger on me for a beat too long, like he’s weighing his next words, deciding whether to push or let it slide. His voice drops slightly, quieter but no less intense. “You sure you’re alright?”
I nod, even though my pulse is still hammering in my ears. Who the hell was she? And why did she look at me like that?
We continue walking, and the silence between us stretches, thick with unspoken questions neither of us dares to ask. We're almost to the door when something snags my attention, yanking me out of my head.
The lights are all fixed.That was… fast.
I hesitate for a second, looking from the light to Kane, suspicion curling in my chest.
He catches the look I give him, and of course, smiles.
The back-and-forth of emotions tonight is enough to make my head spin. One second, I’m fighting off the unease from the shadows outside. The next, I’m hyper-aware of Kane’s presence, and the tension stretched so tight that it feels like one wrong move could snap it in two.
If only I could convince my body that all of this is exactly why we’re steering clear of dating for the foreseeable future. That would be lovely. But no, my pulse refuses to listen. It refuses to do anything other than quicken every damn time he looks at me like that.
The heat of the greenhouse presses against my skin as we step inside, and suddenly, the tension from outside fades.
I let my fingers brush over the broad petals of a nearby plant, tracing the edges almost absently. There’s something raw and untamed about it, something unapologetic, kind of like how this whole damn night has felt.
Kane’s voice breaks the silence, but it's low and almost too quiet to catch.
“You’re fascinating, you know that?”
I blink, turning to him, my heart skipping exactly once before I shove the reaction down where it belongs.
I roll my eyes, grinning as I lean into the sarcasm like the lifeline I desperately need. “What can I say? I’m an acquired taste.”
I look over at him, all challenge and reckless defiance, and let my smile widen. “If you don’t like it, then I guess that means you should acquire some taste.”
He chuckles, but there’s something about the way his gaze lingers on me.
“So when do I get to see you throw a knife?” His brow lifts, the corner of his mouth tilting in amusement.
“Oh, that’s right! I can’t wait for you to owe me a favor.” I let out a low hum, tapping my fingers on my chin. “Guess we’ll play as soon as you’re ready.”
He huffs out a laugh, shaking his head like he thinks he’s already won. “I’ll find a knife right now if you’re that confident.”
