Page 31

CHAPTER 31

ZAIDEN

M y boots sank deeper with each step, the ground soft from yesterday's rain. Stacks of crushed cars loomed on either side, their jagged edges catching the moonlight. Ariella's footsteps fell in perfect rhythm with mine, almost like she was afraid to let the distance between us grow.

A loose piece of metal creaked somewhere to our left. Ariella's breath caught. The sound of her stumbling closer was exactly what I'd been waiting for.

"How much further, Zaiden?" She quickened her pace, nearly stepping on my heels.

My lips curled into a grin. Ariella's fear was intoxicating. I'd always loved how scared she was of the dark, and that I was her safe spot. It wasn't Ariella's fear specifically that was intoxicating. It was how she held on to me when she was scared. It was how I made her feel safe. Even now, when I'd been the monster of her nightmares, she still trusted me to protect her.

"It's right up here." The brush of her fingers against mine sent a familiar jolt through my arm. She fell into step beside me, close enough that her shoulder bumped mine with each step. "My dad had them put it in the back so he wouldn't have to see it every time he came here."

Ariella's head swiveled left, then right. "It's really dark out here." Her voice had that slight tremor she always tried to hide.

My head lifted, taking in the glow of the full moon. "Don't worry, I'm the only big bad wolf out here." Glancing out of the corner of my eye to Ariella. Her fear of the dark was greater than her fear of me, and that piqued my curiosity. "Why are you scared of the dark anyway?"

"I'm not scared." Ariella lifted her chin, but her fingers twisted the hem of her shirt.

I cut her a look. "Seriously?" She said that like I'd never met her before, like I didn't know her better than, well, I'd bet on anyone.

"Even if it were true, why would I tell you anything?" She wrapped her arms around herself, creating a barrier between us. Her eyes were fixed on a point somewhere in the distance. "Like I would give you anything else you could use against me."

Fuck .

Blowing out a heavy breath, I stopped and twisted into her path, stopping her, and her spine stiffened. "I'm sorry for blaming you for Kacie's death."

"If you think that I'm going to forgive you?—"

"I don't."

"Then why are you apologizing?”

"Because—" I trailed off. I'd spent a year hating Ariella. I'd spent months planning how I was going to destroy her, only to find out it wasn't her fault. It was mine. If I'd listened to Ariella, to begin with, Kacie wouldn't have left the party that night upset. "Because I am sorry." My hands curled around her waist. "I blamed myself after Kacie died, and then when Sam pointed the finger at you, I didn't even need proof. I needed to blame you."

"Well," she shoved my hands off her, "that doesn't change the fact that you ruined my life."

"Did I, though?" The corner of my mouth lifted in that way I knew made her blood boil.

"What? Yes." Ariella's hands balled into fists at her sides. Her voice cracked between fury and something rawer. "You isolated me from my team, EJ won't even look at me, and you?—"

"I what, Ariella?" I hooked an arm around her waist, drawing her against me. Her pulse hammered where my fingers pressed against her skin, betraying everything her glare tried to deny. "I made your panties wet. I got rid of the dick that drugged you at the party."

She shoved at my chest, but I didn't let her go. "You don't know that."

"True." I traced my thumb along my bottom lip, watching her eyes track the movement. "But it doesn't matter. You're not into him."

"I'm not into you either." Ariella's voice wavered on the last word as she bit down on the corner of her lip. Some things never change.

"Liar." The grin spread across my face as her pupils dilated. I leaned closer, close enough to see the pulse jumping in her throat. "Tell me something, did you go home and touch yourself that night?"

Her hands slammed into my chest. I let the impact separate us this time, but not before catching the way her breath quickened. "You can say whatever you want, Ariella, but I did you a favor."

"Whatever, Zaiden." The words came out as a hiss between clenched teeth. She wrapped her arms around herself, shoulders hunching against the night air—or maybe against the truth. "Can we just get this over with so I can go home?"

"Tell me why you're scared of the dark."

She shook her head.

"No."

"Okay," I crossed my arms over my chest. "Then tell me this: Do you feel safe from the dark when you're with me?"

"I'm not answering that." She sidestepped around me and started walking forward.

I spun around, a huge smile spreading across my face. "Isn't that odd?" I followed behind her. "The person you hate most in this world is also the one person you feel safe with."

She stopped whipping around and shoving her finger into my chest. "You're a massive dick, and I do hate you, but," her hand dropped to her side, "I know you won't let anyone else hurt me." She was right. It didn't matter what I said about her or did to her. If anyone else even looked at her wrong, I would kill them. "So yes, I feel safe from the darkness with you, but I do not trust you, and I know I'm not safe from you."

"And why are you scared of the dark?"

She blew out a heavy sigh. "It's stupid."

"Tell me anyway."

"There's absolutely no reason," she said. "It's a completely irrational fear, but it doesn't matter how many times I tell myself that I can't control it. I guess it's kind of like someone who's scared of heights. I'm scared of the dark."

Something about her answer relaxed me, knowing that something traumatizing didn't happen to her to cause her fears.

"You weren't safe when I wanted revenge. I don't want revenge anymore." I wanted her the same way I wanted her before Kacie died. I guess I never really stopped wanting her, except I wasn't sure she'd ever forgive me.

I shifted to remove my jacket. "Here." I held it out. "You're cold. Wear this."

"I would rather eat my own toes for dinner."

"It's just a jacket, Ariella, not a marriage proposal."

"We both know what wearing that letterman's jacket means."

I huffed out a laugh. "What does it mean?"

She shook her head, ignoring my question. "Can we please find this car so we can get out of here?" She twisted back around and started walking again. "Where is this guy at?"

"The car's over this way." I slipped my hand into hers, and for the first time, she didn't fight me. I led her through a pile of stacked cars. On the other side was Kacie's, or, technically, my mom's car.

The hood slammed against the frame with a metallic crack that echoed through the junkyard, but it didn't click closed because of the damage. Kevin's flashlight beam swept over us. "Bout time you get here." The light lingered on Ariella. "Who's that?"

My shoulder angled slightly between them. "This is Ariella. She was Kacie's best friend."

Ariella raised her hand in a small wave, but her other hand squeezed mine a little tighter.

Kevin stood by the car's crumpled front end, his fingers tracing the damaged metal. He wiped his hands on his oil-covered white shirt, leaving more dark smudges. "Can't be one hundred percent sure because of the damage and the amount of time it's been sitting here, but—" His jaw tightened. "If I had to put a bet on whether or not it was or wasn't. I'd bet my entire pot on it was."

My gaze shifted, catching Ariella's and holding for a long minute. Ariella didn't know Kevin like I did. She had no idea he was a car expert. While everyone was getting ready for college, he was working in his dad's shop. When we all left for college, he was taking tech classes to learn everything he could about the ins and outs of a car, and if he was willing to bet the brakes were tampered with, then they definitely were.

"I took a few pictures and sent them to your phone, showing you exactly what I saw so you'd have them if you needed them."

I shoved my hand into my pocket, grabbing a wad of money. "Thanks." Pulling my hand out, I shoved the money toward him.

He shook his head. "Nah, this one was on the house. Your sister deserved better than this. I hope you figure out who did it and give them exactly what they deserve." Shoving the money back in my pocket, I nodded. When I found out who did this, I was going to bury them. "I parked at the back gate." He threw a thumb over his shoulder. "Let me know if you need anything else."

We stood silently for a long minute, watching until Kevin disappeared into the darkness.

"So she was murdered."

"Looks that way." The truth about Kacie's death had been here all along, rusting away in my father's junkyard while I'd spent a year plotting and planning how I was going to destroy the wrong person. "Listen carefully. We can't tell anyone about this."

"Journey and Mila—" She moved to reach for her phone in her back pocket.

I caught her wrist before she could reach it. The touch sent electricity through both of us, and she jerked away like she'd been burned. "We can let them know tomorrow when we meet up." My voice dropped to barely above a whisper, paranoia creeping in with the shadows. "But no text. No phone calls, and we don't bring anyone in that we don't trust."

Ariella's eyes widened as understanding dawned. She gave a sharp nod.

My fingers drummed against my thigh as pieces started clicking into place. "If someone was after my mom, then it probably had something to do with my dad, and he's been in bed with some bad people."

Ariella stepped closer, her eyes scanning the darkness beyond the car. "So you think they were for sure after your mom?" The question came out soft as if she was afraid the wrong ears might hear it.

I raised my shoulders. "No one knew that my mom and Kacie switched cars that night except me, Kacie, my mom, and my dad."

"True," she said. "I didn't even know."

A roll of thunder echoed through the silence. "We should get out of here before it rains."

A branch snapped somewhere in the darkness. Ariella's whole body jerked, her shoulder ramming into mine. "What was that?"

The rustling grew louder, dry leaves skittering across the pavement. Before I could open my mouth, she launched herself at me, fingers clawing into my shirt. "What the fuck is that?"

Her body molded against mine, every curve finding its familiar place. My arms locked around her automatically as she buried her face in my chest, her racing heart echoing through both our bodies.

"It's probably a raccoon." A laugh bubbled up before I could stop it. It was not because of her fear—it was because of how perfectly she still fit against me, how her body remembered what her mind wanted to forget. The familiar scent of her shampoo, vanilla, and something floral filled my lungs. Every tremor that ran through her body echoed in mine.

"It's not funny." The words vibrated against my collarbone, her lips brushing my skin through my shirt.

"No, it's not." My hands found their way to her hips. One smooth motion, and she was up, legs wrapping around my waist like they belonged there.

Ariella's breath hitched. Her fingers clutched my shoulders, caught between pushing away and pulling closer. "What are you doing?"

"Protecting you from the big, bad animals running around out here."

She opened her mouth like she wanted to argue, but she must have been scared enough to decide against it. Instead, she wrapped her arms around my neck and hooked her legs around my back. "Let's get out of here, please," she hummed against my neck, and my dick twitched against the denim of my jeans, reminding me how badly I wanted her, and I knew she wanted me too, even if she wasn't willing to admit it yet.