Page 68 of Symphony for Lies

“So… the killer could be intentionally messing with the notes to create confusion.” Lost in thought, I barely noticed myself speaking aloud.

A sudden discordant clash of notes made me jump. Zane’s fingers were still on the keys, but his expression had changed.He wasn’t relaxed anymore. His entire body was tense, and his eyes were dark, burning with something sharp.Dangerous. “Killer?”

The dissonant sound still rang in the air between us.

I internally cursed myself for speaking without thinking.“I-I mean…” My voice wavered. “You must have misheard.” Well, thatwasn’t convincing.

Zane’s eyes never left mine, so I turned away, searching for an escape. An excuse to get out of the conversation.

Nothing.

Something inside me whispered that I shouldn’t lie to him. Maybe it was the way he looked at me like he actually cared. Like he wanted to listen.

“It’s… complicated.”

“Then make it simple.” There was no demand in his request. Just quiet patience.

After a long moment, I exhaled and told him what was going on. Not everything. No details. No names. Just the bare minimum.

The hidden messages in the music, the fact people were dying, and how I got caught up in the whole thing after finding the first body.

Zane didn’t interrupt.He just watched me.

And for the first time since I had met him, his eyes held no underlying sense of teasing. No smugness. Just something raw.Something I didn’t know how to name.

After a beat, he dragged a hand through his hair. “Fuck, Amelia. And you’re telling me this just now?” His voice was controlled, but there was something underneath it. Sharp, possessive.

I shifted slightly.“I mean, we don’t really know each other that well,” I tried to argue.

His expression didn’t change.

“And besides, you probably would’ve thought I was exaggerating.”

He let out a short, humorless laugh.“No, I wouldn’t have. If you told me earlier, I would’ve known right away that you were caught up in something seriously messed up!”

The situation was undeniably messed up and terrifying, but how could I honestly respond to that?

“And now?” Zane asked after a moment.

“Now we read?” I suggested, lifting the book on wind chimes.

He looked like he wanted to argue, but then his features relaxed. A low, almost amused breath escaped his lips as he leaned forward to close the piano lid.“Fine. But we are going to talk about this later.”

I nodded, flipping open the book.

Zane grabbed another one, settling into a comfortable position beside me.

The next hour passed in relative silence. Pages turned. Notes were typed into my phone. Zane’s presence was a quiet, steady force beside me. Every now and then, I felt his eyes on me.

I ignored it at first, but eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore.“Something wrong?”

His brown eyes gleamed. “Nothing. I just think it’s fascinating how focused you are.”

I raised a brow. “It’s important. Was that an attempt at praise?”

“Well, if your mind is as sharp as your looks are distracting, then—”

“Zane.” I cut him off, rolling my eyes.