Page 86 of Beneath the Surface

My mouth drops open.

“What?” He cocks a brow.

“Whoareyou?”

“It’s your fault for not knowing.” His eyes cut me with their glare.

A knock sounds on the door, and my heart jumps to my throat, hope swelling in my chest that it’s Alex. But when the door swings open and Jax walks in with a smile on his face, that hope deflates.

“Everyone still alive in here?” He meanders in with a smile, instantly easing the tension in the room. “What’d I miss?”

Chase sighs. “Just filling in Lily on how we found her.”

A sick feeling settles heavy in my gut.What are the odds a PI would show up in my life right when Chase comes back?

My hands grow clammy, nerves making my skin pull tight. “Hey, what was the name of the PI you used?”

Chase looks over to me, running his hand through his hair. “Mason, why?”

Relief trickles through my veins.Thank God.

I shrug. “Just curious.”

My heart aches at Alex’s silence, but I swallow down the pain, reminding myself that I chose to trust him. But I don’t think a simple phone call is too much to ask.

Jax walks over and settles between us, throwing his arm around my shoulder and winking. “As cozy as this is, we should probably find a place to stay.” He looks around. “I don’t think there’s room for us here.”

I cringe at the reminder of everything my life is lacking. At the small apartment that can’t even comfortably fit baby Chase and me, let alone visitors. “There’s not much around Raindale, other than the Motel Eight on the edge of town.”

Chase nods. “That will work.”

“I don’t have a car, but I can walk you guys there.” I perk up at the opportunity to go see Alex, anxious energy popping like kernels in my stomach.

Chase smirks. “We have a car.”

My brows rise. “Oh, right.”

“You can still come, though,” he continues. “Give us directions.”

I smile. “Only a few roads in this town, and the motel is on the main stretch.”

He blows out a breath, his eyes growing dark, looking like he’s searching for the words to say. “I want you to come, Lil.”

Warmth spreads through me at his tone and I nod. “Okay, I will.” My fingers tap against my wrist. “Wait... so if you hired a private investigator, does that mean that someone has been watching me?”

Nausea curdles my gut. At the fact that I didn’t know—wasn’t aware of my surroundings.Anythingcould have happened.

Chase twists his lips. “I’m not gonna apologize for doing what I needed to do to find you.” He shakes his head, nostrils flaring. “I’ll be outside by the car. We can talk more about this later after we get settled in.”

My lips turn down as he walks from the room, the piece of my heart that cracked when I left him throbbing.

Jax sighs, tapping his fingers on his knee. “Heishappy, you know? He’s just hurt.”

“Yeah, well.” I tense my jaw. “Some things never change, I guess.”

“With all due respect, Lily.” Jax leans toward me on the couch. “You’ve been gone for ten years. You havenoidea what’s happened while you were gone. Nocluehow much your brother has truly changed.”

He stands up, stretching his arms above his head, my eyes catching on the thin sliver of skin peeking between his jeans and his shirt.How can someone be so... pretty?

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