Page 27 of Symphony for Lies (Tangled Truths #2)

Something about Zane had changed since Spencer’s phone call. It wasn’t very obvious. But his touches lingered longer, and his sentences became shorter.

He avoided the topic and pretended everything was normal, but I still felt it. I could see it in the way his fingers gripped the steering wheel a little too tightly as he drove me home. His eyes flicked toward me every few seconds, checking on me, even though he didn’t say a word.

I wasn’t okay.

Everything felt shaken, like the ground beneath my feet had shifted. The week had been a storm, tearing apart everything I thought I knew, and I was sitting in the wreckage, trying to make sense of it all.

And Tristan’s arrest sent a shockwave through me, leaving me raw and exposed.

Zane pulled up in front of my house. “Do you want me to stay?”

I wavered but said, “No, it’s okay.”

He studied my face as if trying to catch me in a lie. His warm hand slid over my thigh. “If anything happens, call me.”

I nodded.

As I reached for the door handle, his phone rang.

The moment he glanced at the screen, his entire demeanor shifted.

“Everything okay?”

He let out a deep sigh.“Some… family matters.”

I hesitated for a moment but decided not to interfere.

When I entered the house, it was quiet. Too quiet.

I half expected my grandmother to be waiting in the hallway, arms crossed, ready to give me a speech about not coming home, but she wasn’t there.

The silence felt unfamiliar.

Frowning, I walked upstairs to my room, glancing at the time. Afternoon… Maybe Grandma is visiting a friend.

I pulled off my clothes and changed into something more comfortable before collapsing onto my bed.

My thoughts started spinning, from Zane to his family, to Tristan, to the murder cases, to the poor animals, and then to Spencer.

Grabbing my phone, I pressed play on his new message.

The unsettling notes of the wind chime filled my ears. The sounds were distorted and uneven, as if the wind was desperately trying, and failing, to form a melody.

A shiver ran down my spine.

I walked to my desk, grabbed a pen, and scribbled on a sheet of paper.

“Underneath the bride of flowers lies the answer.”

The answer.

I stared at the words.

In frustration, I crumbled the paper in my fist and threw it in the trash. “What the hell does that even mean?!”

There was no answer in that message, only more riddles.

A loud noise rang throughout the house, causing my pulse to spike before I belatedly realized it was just the front doorbell.

Zane’s amusement at my reaction to the car horn flashed through my mind, and I felt irritation bubble up.

The second I opened the door, I was hit with a wave of laughter and chatter.

Stacy, Layla, and Tiana stood on the porch carrying armfuls of snacks, board games, and drinks.

“Surprise!” Layla squealed, throwing herself at me, which just led to a group hug.“Since you’ve been MIA, we decided to ambush you!”

Tiana nodded, tapping my shoulder. “Exactly! Stacy said you need it.” Her eyes studied me carefully, scanning my face for signs of distress.

Warmth spread through my chest.I had gotten so caught up in the chaos of everything that I had forgotten that I wasn’t alone. I had people who would catch me when I fell.

“Thank you.” I stepped aside, letting them in.

Stacy dropped onto my grandmother’s favorite chair, her oversized hoodie swallowing her frame. She lazily toyed with the end of her braided hair, eyes sharp despite her relaxed posture.

Tiana sprawled beside me on the couch, and Layla curled up on my other side, tucking her legs underneath her. As we made ourselves comfortable, she removed her hijab, revealing her long, wavy brown hair.

The energy in the room shifted.

For the first time in days, things felt normal.

We laughed, caught up, and talked like nothing had changed.

Then, Layla suddenly got serious. “Ali told me he saw you at a crime scene.”

I should’ve known it would come up, so I took a deep breath and told them everything.

The case. The coded messages. Zane. His mother. Everything.

Stacy, despite already knowing bits and pieces, looked stunned.

Layla was pacing.

And Tiana let out a low whistle. “Wow.”

“Okay, but…” Stacy’s eyes gleamed. “...did you sleep with Zane again?”

I blinked. “Uh—”

She raised a brow.

I sighed and nodded.

“Well, I’m glad it went better than the last time. So, are you two, like, together now?”

I bit my lip. “I think so?”

Tiana shrieked, “Wait, wait, wait! You think?!”

“I asked him, and he said I belong to him.”

She smacked my arm. “That’s hot!”

Layla wedged herself between us. “Hmm… we still need to see how it goes. So far, it sounds like he’s really into you. But what’s actually worrying me are those messages.”

Stacy nodded. “If you feel like you’ve found a lead, we should check it out.”

I hesitated. “But—”

“Yeah, exactly!” Layla snapped her fingers. “This way, we can see if you’re right.”

“But what if there’s a body there?” I countered. “Or worse, the killer?”

She sighed, running a hand through her hair.

“Spencer told you what he heard. And Ali told me the same thing. There’s been talk at the station that they caught a suspect.

I just didn’t know it was Tristan… Honestly, Amelia, I truly trust your instincts.

The department is a mess right now. Ali said that once they had a suspect, many officers stopped looking for other leads.

They’re just relieved it’s over.” Her voice was laced with uncertainty.

“And I was relieved, too. I want it to be over. But after you told me about the no te, something doesn’t sit right.

I don’t want anything to happen to you. We can’t ignore it if there’s more to this. ”

Silence settled between us all.

“Well? What the hell are we waiting for?” Stacy pushed up from her seat.

They were right.

I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

We all grabbed our coats, and I helped Layla with her hijab before we stepped out into the night.

The car ride to the city’s outskirts was quiet. The roads emptied, and the sky melted into deep shades of amber.The sun was still low on the horizon, casting long shadows over the asphalt as we turned down a narrow side street toward the bridge I suspected was part of the clue.

“So, what exactly are we expecting to find?” Stacy finally asked, drumming her fingers against the dashboard.

I sighed, leaning back against the seat.“I don’t know. Perhaps nothing. Maybe just a place that means something.”

“Or maybe…” Layla murmured. “…we’ll finally get some answers.”

Tiana pulled the car to a stop on a gravel road, and we stepped out. The area was quiet, too quiet.

The bridge wasn’t far from the school. I could see its faint outline in the distance.

The air smelled of damp grass, with a lingering trace of summer still clinging to the breeze. Even though autumn was creeping in, the warmth hadn’t completely left.

A few meters away was the bridge, an old stone structure wrapped in wild aster flowers that swayed gently in the wind. There was something peaceful about it, almost romantic.

Layla clung onto my arm while Tiana and Stacy walked ahead, stopping at the edge of the bridge and peering over the side into the water below.

“Nothing,” Stacy declared, her eyes scanning the banks.

Tiana leaned down to pick up a small stone before tossing it into the creek. The ripples spread outward, breaking the stillness.

I bit my lip, letting my gaze wander over the area.

I had thought we’d find something here. That the message had led us to a clue. But there was nothing.

No signs. No markings. No answers.

Just the soft trickle of the creek and the wind rustling through the trees.

“Maybe we are too early, and the person hasn’t left anything here yet,” Tiana mused.

“Or maybe it’s the wrong bridge,” Layla suggested. “There are plenty of them around the city.”

I shook my head.

No. I knew it was this one.

We stepped onto the bridge, still scanning our surroundings for anything, but when it became apparent that there was nothing to see, we stared at the stunning sunset. The water glistened beneath the fading light, the sun’s reflection dancing across the surface.

“Wow,” Layla whispered.

For a moment, the world didn’t feel so heavy.The fear, the uncertainty, it all faded away.

The horizon, painted red, pink, and violet, stretched endlessly before us.

Stacy sighed, leaning against the railing. “If the killer wanted us to see this, I should thank him.”

Layla smacked her arm.

“I was wrong. Maybe there was no message to begin with…”

Maybe I wasn’t as clever as I thought. Perhaps I had just imagined a connection that wasn’t there.

“No,” Stacy said firmly. “Don’t do that. Even if we didn’t find anything here, that doesn’t mean you’re wrong. Someone gave you a message for a reason. It means something.”

I nodded weakly.

My gaze drifted toward the school in the distance. Then back down at the water.“Let’s go. I don’t want us hanging around here any longer.”

They all nodded.

Maybe we were too early. Or maybe I just had no idea what I was looking for.

Back at my house, we sprawled across the living room floor, digging through the internet for anything related to the case.

Stacy found the clue we were looking for. A string of murders in a small town called Steel Valley. The details of the case were eerily similar to ours.The victims, their position, and the messages left behind.

“This can’t be a coincidence,” I muttered, scribbling down a name that caught my attention. A reporter, a survivor. Bella Carter.

“Are you going to contact her?” Tiana inquired.

Before I could answer, the front door swung open.

“Well, well! What a surprise!”My grandmother exclaimed, beaming.

Shit. We hurriedly shoved our notes out of sight, scrambling to hide the subject of our research. Layla, quick on her feet, grabbed a Monopoly box and held it up. “We thought a game night would be fun. ”

My grandmother clapped her hands, delighted.“That sounds wonderful! And you’ll let me play, won’t you?”

Laughter erupted around the room, the atmosphere quickly becoming warm and comfortable as we sat down and started playing.

After a while, my phone vibrated.

Zane:

Come outside.

A familiar tension coiled in my stomach.

“I need to step out for a second.”

Four pairs of eyes snapped toward me.

“Why?” Layla narrowed her gaze.

“Zane’s here.”

Whistles and giggles abounded.

My grandmother grinned. “A date in the middle of the night! Zane knows the romantic tricks.”

“It’s not a date,” I muttered, my face burning as I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door.

The air was cool as I stepped outside.Streetlights cast a soft golden glow on the pavement, the wet asphalt glistening faintly.

And there he was, leaning against his motorcycle and dressed in a black leather jacket that fit him too damn well. Zane’s dark hair was tousled like he’d run his hands through it multiple times, and shadows played across his jawline, accentuating the tension in his features.

Something was off.

There was an edge to him tonight, a quiet storm brewing beneath the surface.

When he saw me, he closed the distance between us in three strides, grabbed me by the waist, and pushed me against the door.

His dark and penetrating gaze was so intense it made my knees almost buckle.

“Zane?”

Fingers tangled in my hair as he pulled my lips to his. Hard. Fierce. Desperate.

Shocked, the air was knocked from my lungs, but under the onslaught, I melted.

Desire. Fear. More… so much more.

My hands clutched at his jacket, but he pulled back to breathe with a shaky exhale.“No matter what you hear, remember one thing.” His voice was raw. Almost pleading.

That did not sound good.

“None of it is true.”

I tried to catch his gaze, but he shook his head slightly, fingers trailing along my cheek.

“And you matter to me.”

His words were a puzzle, but I didn’t have the pieces to solve it.

“And I only have you.”

My heart clenched. “Zane, what’s going on?”

His expression was one of conflicted anguish. “Will you come with me?”

I blinked at the abrupt shift in tone. “My friends are here.”

He pressed his lips together, his gaze flickering toward the door like he was debating something internally.

With a long sigh, he cupped my cheek and kissed me again, softly this time. Apologetically.

I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let me gain any space.

I pushed against his chest, determined to get answers, but he focused only on the kiss, tilting his head to claim me more fully.

Heat and desire rushed through my veins.

Finally, he pulled back, resting his forehead against mine. “I’ll call you later. Go back to your friends.”

His arms tightened around me, pulling me into his warmth. I could feel his heartbeat, which seemed to race with mine.

“If you want me to leave, you’re going to have to let me go,” I murmured.

A faint, almost knowing, smirk played at his lips.

But he didn’t release me.

Instead, his grip tightened.

“Zane?”

I felt him inhale deeply, and finally, he dropped his arms.

He stared at me for a long, heavy moment before clenching his jaw and turning away.

Something was wrong. Something was burning inside him. But I knew he wouldn’t tell me. Not yet.

And that scared me more than anything else.