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It’s soft at first, almost tentative, but loud enough to cut through the static in my head and the loud vibrating on the floor. I freeze, holding my breath.Did I imagine that?

The knock comes again—louder this time, more insistent.

“Alex? It’s me,” a familiar voice calls from the other side of the door. “I saw your car outside.”

Kane.

The tension in my shoulders eases almost immediately at his muffled deep voice. I exhale shakily, closing my eyes for a moment to collect myself before rising to my feet.

I pad toward the door, and when I open it, Kane is standing there, rain-dampened and casual in his jeans and waxed jacket.His hair clings to his forehead, droplets sliding down his temples.

“You okay?” Kane asks, tilting his head, his hands casually stuffed into his jacket pockets. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I nod too quickly. “Yeah. Fine.”

But the uneasy prickle in the back of my neck tells me everything is far from fine if that message is anything to go by.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, moving aside to let him in.

“You didn’t see my text?” he asks when I turn back to him.

I peer over to my couch where my phone is still on the floor. I rush over to pick it up, swiping away from the ominous email and surely enough, a message from Kane sits in my messages.

“Oh,” I say, my voice still hoarse.

He looks at me carefully. “I heard about Halle’s case. The Arnolds dropped it, right? A few of us were at The Mast tonight and I thought to come over and check on you, especially after yesterday.”

I glance at him, trying to find the right words. “Uh, yeah. Thanks.”

This time, he frowns. “Is everything okay?”

I look down at the phone in my hand. “I don’t know,” I say honestly. “I got a message…”

“Okay…” he trails, still looking confused. “From whom?”

I place the phone on the table, my palms lying flat on the wood as I try to steady myself. “Remember when I said someone had sent me an email saying they would help me get Halle’s case dismissed?”

He nods next to me. “Yeah. What did the message say?”

I take in a steadying breath. “Nothing really. Just that they know I broke our deal.”

Kane frowns, eyes scanning me with concern. “I thought whoever was sending you those emails was the one who got the case dismissed. That was the deal, right?”

My stomach knots as I nod. “Yes, but I asked Rowan to help instead.”

He doesn’t look surprised, instead he just nods. “Rowan? Last time we spoke, you said you weren’t in contact anymore.”

“We weren’t,” I say. “But he—” I stop myself.

I can’t tell him about Key or any of the other stuff, really. I can’t tell him that it feels like I’m picking Rowan over the OCU. It hits me then that this is the conflict for Rowan and I. My life now can never match his. I’ll have to keep lying to the people I love to protect him and ultimately, The Snake.

“Alex?” Kane says after a moment. “Is Rowan behind all of this?”

I shake my head, standing up straight. “What? No, of course not.”

He doesn’t look convinced. “Are you sure? Your judgement could be clouded. You two have been involved before.” He licks his bottom lip, his hands landing on his hips. “Are you sleeping with him again?”

The question hits like a slap. I flinch. And that’s all Kane needs. His frown deepens, his scrutiny growing sharper. He reads me too well—so much like Halle does.