Page 14

CHAPTER 14

ARIELLA

I t was after ten when I made it to the party and met Journey and Mila in the driveway.

It was the start of football season, and the fraternity house Alpha Delta Alpha, which was home to most of the football team, hosted the first party of the year.

"Zaiden is here." Journey gripped my arm, her voice dropping. "He's out back with the rest of the hockey team."

"I overheard Hawk say the party was lame with no new pussy." Mila rolled her eyes, fingers tightening around her cup. "So I think they'll leave soon."

Journey shook her head. "Zaiden won't leave if he knows you're here."

I nodded, scanning the crowded hallway. "So, we avoid the hockey team for now."

"I thought you wanted me to talk to Sterling," Mila narrowed her eyes.

"If anyone knows anything, it would be Sterling," I whispered as a group of partiers passed us. "But if we can't get to him tonight, we'll have to wait." I reached into my pocket, pulled out three pieces of paper, and handed them a sheet. "This is a list of everyone I remember seeing at the party that night, even those who have moved away or probably won't be here tonight." They both unfolded the white sheet of paper. "If you think of anyone else, add their name to the paper and let us know so we can add it to ours. We keep questioning until we find out who saw Kacie leave that night."

"We should split up," Journey suggested. "We'll be less noticeable."

We split up, each taking a different area of the house. Mila took the back of the house, Journey took the kitchen and backyard, and I chose the living room and family room, which were as far away from Zaiden as I could get.

As I went through the room, I stopped and talked to anyone on the list, but they were all dead ends. Either they didn't see Kacie that night, or they were too drunk to remember. After two hours of conversation that led to nothing, I sank onto the couch. I knew someone had to have seen something that night. I was starting to think that person wasn't at this party.

The first party to kick off each team's season was always the largest party of the year because it was when the teams came together, where the rest of the year, each sports team kept to themselves. These were always my least favorite parties, not that I really enjoyed any of them anymore. Every room in the house was so packed it was hard to breathe; it was hot and musty, the music was loud, and it smelled like vomit mixed with stale weed.

My phone buzzed in my hand.

Journey: Heads up, EJ's looking for you.

I rolled my eyes. I didn't have time for EJ right now.

Ariella: Thanks.

My gaze lifted, scanning the room, and thankfully, EJ hadn't made it to this side of the party yet, but it was only a matter of time. My eyes stopped, landing on Cody Black as he lifted his professional camera and snapped a picture of something on the opposite end of the room.

"Holy shit," I muttered as I pushed off the couch. Cody would have been at the party the night Kacie died. He wasn't on my list because no one ever noticed him. He was always in the background, taking pictures.

He was part of the yearbook team in middle and high school. Everyone got so used to seeing him in the background taking pictures that he became invisible. Now, Cody was some type of social media influencer who shared his photographs with the world, but he was still invisible behind that camera. If anyone saw something that night, it would be him.

"Hey, Cody." I smiled, shouting over the bass that vibrated through the floorboards.

His gaze lifted slowly from his camera. Dark eyes widened with surprise as they landed on me. "Hey, Ari." He blinked twice, adjusting his glasses. Being invisible for so long had left him unprepared for direct attention.

I leaned in, the scent of his cologne replacing the smell of beer and sweat. "I was wondering what you do with all your old photos?"

"Um." He shook his head, thumb nervously stroking the side of his camera. "I post some things on social media?—"

"No." I touched his arm lightly. "Like all the old photos from high school. What did you do with all of them? Do you still have them?"

His posture straightened, shoulders pulling back as his passion overrode his shyness. "Of course." A genuine smile broke across his face. "I keep everything."

"This may sound weird, but do you remember that last party we had at The Myers' house in high school?"

He nodded. "Yes." His smile faded. "The night Kacie died."

Swallowing hard, I nodded. "Yes. Do you have the pictures from that night?"

"Yes. They're all saved on my computer at home, and I have them backed up on a drive."

"Do you think I could get a copy of them?"

"Are you looking for pictures of Kacie?"

"Yes, I was hoping to find something that told me why she got back in her car drunk and left that night. I've asked around, but no one seems to remember seeing her that night."

"I saw her." My eyes widened. "I saw her when she got there, and then I saw her when she left about twenty minutes later."

"Twenty minutes?"

"Yeah, and when she left, she was really upset. I tried to ask her if everything was ok, but I don't think she noticed me."

"Did you see what upset her?" He shook his head. Kacie wasn't dating anyone then because she'd recently broken up with her ex, and I didn't remember seeing him at the party. "Did she come with anyone that night?"

"Nope. She went through the house and out the back like she was looking for someone, and then the next time I saw her, she was storming through the house and out the front door."

What had upset her? I didn't remember any type of commotion that would have insinuated there was a fight of any kind that night.

"Oh, and she wasn't drunk." Cody's voice lowered.

"Yeah, she was." I frowned, leaning closer. "They told the family that she had high levels of alcohol in her system."

Cody glanced over his shoulder before meeting my eyes again. "I don't know who 'they' is," he murmured, fingers tightening around his camera strap, "but she wasn't drunk when she left. Ten minutes down the road, when she crashed—there's no possible way."

My brows pulled together as a chill ran through me. "How can you be sure?"

"I'm a people watcher." He held up his camera, a shield between us and the rest of the party. His gaze turned distant as though reviewing mental footage. "Been to every party since freshman year. I've seen Kacie drunk plenty of times." He shook his head firmly. "That night? Stone cold sober."

Well, this just got a whole lot weirder. If Kacie had been at the party for only twenty minutes, that was plenty of time to have a drink or two, so if Kacie was trashed when she left, that would mean she'd been drinking before she got to the party, and that wasn't like Kacie. So maybe Cody was right, and she wasn't drunk, but then why did she crash?

"Can I stop by your place and look at those pictures tomorrow?"

"I'm leaving town tomorrow morning, but I can email them to you tonight when I get home."

"Thank you, Cody, and if you think of anything else that you remember that night, will you let me know?"

"There you are." EJ's voice boomed from behind me, words slurring together. The scent of tequila rolled off him in waves.

I suppressed a wince and squared my shoulders before turning. "Hey." My lips stretched into what I hoped passed for a smile. "I've been looking for you."

I opened my mouth to suggest leaving when movement behind EJ made me freeze.

My gaze collided with Zaiden's. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his broad chest, bluish-grey eyes glittering with amusement—a predator watching prey.

My lip curled involuntarily.

Fuck.

My mind raced through scenarios like flipping cards. Option one: Leave now. Zaiden would follow—I'd bet my life on it. Option two: Stay. Flirt with EJ, which was exactly what Zaiden had warned me not to do.

I shifted closer to EJ, fingertips brushing his arm. With witnesses around, Zaiden wouldn't make a scene.

Probably.