Page 95

I take that as my cue to leave. “Of course. I’ll make sure you’ll get some food. Let us know if you need anything.”
I want to say, “Letmeknow if you need anything,” but I don’t. I’m not sure where that ridiculous need to take care of her suddenly comes from, but it’s loud and persistent. Just like it used to be when we were younger.
After knowing her for so long, I knew I could never get rid of my memories of her, but I thought my old feelings had successfully vanished with her betrayal. It turns out I was wrong, and they were only dormant this entire time, waiting for the first sunlight to kiss their skin so they could bloom once again.
“Thank you, Phoenix.”
“No problem.” I nod and step out of her room, forcing myself to walk away.
This is the first time I’m leaving her side since they allowed me into her hospital room, and it’s almost painful to put distance between us. What if something happens to herwhile I’m gone? A few years ago, especially when the anger was fresh and taking over my brain, I would have said “good” and run the other way without looking back.
But I can’t pretend that’s who I am anymore. Despite my revenge plan, by the time I was released, my need for retribution was a mere baby flame compared to the inferno it was when I first learned about Evangeline’s involvement in my arrest. Seeing her hasn’t helped either, spending time with her even less. Holden and I suspected something wasn’t right soon after she moved in here. What complicates things further is that, at her core, she still seems to be the same sweet girl I had a thing for when we were younger.
Holden waits at the landing for me, intercepting my frustrating attempt to organize my thoughts. “Office.”
I follow him, going straight to the liquor cabinet to pour both of us a drink. The amber liquid burns down my throat, and I welcome the sting.
Holden drains the contents in one go as well, sighing loudly when he puts the glass back on the tray. “Much better.”
He leans back against the large bookshelf and crosses his arms. “How’s she doing?”
I shrug. “Honestly? No clue. The doctor doesn’t expect any complications, so she’ll be okay physically and should be back to normal in a week or two with plenty of rest. She was lucky.”
I close my eyes, pushing away images of the explosion and how badly things could have ended.
“You both got lucky. Phoenix?—”
I stare at my best friend. Waiting. “Show me.”
He pulls two black phones out of the top drawer of thedesk. They’re identical, except one of them has a note stuck between the phone and the clear case on the backside that says “old.”
His fingers fly across the screen of the old mirrored phone, and after a few seconds, he hands it to me. “This is the text message she got right before the explosion. It’s the reason you’re still standing here.”
My fingers squeeze the hard material as I read the words on the screen, then reread them.
Freddy
What a shame to have that beautiful black car blown to pieces in a minute. Your fiancé could be gone alongside it, solving all your problems at once. Decisions, decisions. Tick tock, pet.
With my gaze still on the message, I say, “What. The. Fuck?”
Holden told me about the message when he found it but didn’t mention the exact wording.
“I know.” He goes back to crossing his massive arms over his chest. “I took apart the entire phone—the trash, the cloud, everything. This is the only message I could find from that sender. Of course, the number is untraceable, probably a burner phone, but it’s saved in her contacts under that name, which makes me think this might not be the first time they contacted her.”
“Why would someone plant a bomb on my car but then warn her with enough time to save me?” My head is spinning with this new information. “It makes no sense.”
“It doesn’t, no.” He shakes his head, and a deep frown creases his forehead. “Also, the message only shows on theold phone, but it’s gone on the new one. And it transferred everything else one to one, which makes me think these messages from him vanish, but this one somehow got captured. Maybe a glitch because of the explosion.”
“That would explain why you couldn’t find anything else from him anywhere.”
“Yup.” His frown deepens. “If we want to figure out what’s going on, we need to get her to talk.”
Chapter 23
Evangeline
“Phoenix, nooooo.” My voice is strained, the words scratching up my throat. I gulp in a deep breath, trying to eliminate this suffocating pressure in my chest that feels like it will crush my rib cage.