Page 53 of Alive At Night

As suspected, the house remained quiet as we tiptoed through it. Which made sense, considering I checked my phone to find it was six o’clock in the morning. Six o’clock in the morning. On a Sunday. Why had I thought I would get any sleep this weekend? I should have known it’d be a lost cause as soon as a certain brunette with brown eyes and a forest-green beret appeared in my living room.

I sighed as Juniper slipped into the front seat of the car.

No rest. Not ever.

* * *

Twelve hours later,I was back in a car with Juniper. And Gemma.

Thank God Gemma was here, too.

Very little happened between Whitebridge and Boston, and I had no complaints about that. An uneventful evening was the best I could wish for at this point. Gemma had an early morning skating practice tomorrow, so she planned to stay at my place tonight, saving us a stop in the suburbs. We pulled up to Juni’s apartment building a little after 8:00 p.m., and I swiveled in my seat to look back at her.

“What day do you want to stay late to work on the case this week?”

While I’d made some exceptions this month, I didn’t typically like making plans last minute. I liked figuring shit out ahead of time so I could puzzle together all the other parts of my life—running errands, hitting the gym, socializing. Spur-of-the-moment plans always put me off-kilter. Probably explained a lot of how I’d been feeling lately.

Juniper thought about it for a moment. “Noah’s coming over Wednesday, so maybe Monday or Tuesday?”

Noah.My expression quickly dipped into a scowl. Because Noah.Or, more specifically, Noah going over to Juni’s place. Juniper talking about Noah. Noah and Juniper.

But there was no time to get stuck on that at the moment.

“I’m working on your brakes tomorrow,” I reminded her.

“Right.” Juniper glanced out the window before concluding, “Tuesday, then.”

“Tuesday,” I agreed, and she climbed out of the car, seeming more than eager to escape.

She’d been subdued the entire ride back. Not Juni-like. And while it had led to an uneventful trip that I shouldn’t bother second-guessing or caring about, I wondered why exactly that was. She might have been hungover and tired—like me. But…

I shook my head. It was nothing. Nothing but a 6:00 a.m. wake-up call and a bad apple pie hangover.

When we pulled away from Juniper’s apartment building, Gemma cleared her throat. “You’re working on Juni’s brakes?”

A nod. “Yeah, someone put shitty pads on them the last time she took it into the shop.”

“I see.”

That note in Gemma’s voice, I didn’t like it. Especially when she continued. And brought up Noah.

“And I take it you’re pissed that she’s hanging out with Noah?”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from replying too quickly. “Who said I was pissed?”

Gemma snorted. “Your face.”

“I’m gonna make you walk home,” I threatened, feeling the urge to pull over and kick my sister to the curb.

“You won’t,” Gemma said proudly.

She was right.

I wouldn’t.

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

julian

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