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It’s enough for me to know I can’t just let him go. Not after this. He ends the call, and I duck down lower and end the recording. When the door shuts after him, I open a text to Dante and type as quickly as I can. He’s the only one who will be able to help me figure out what Zane’s saying.

With any luck, the fucker spilled his guts where he thought no one could hear.

Sending video, need u to listen, tell me what it’s saying.

I attach the file, and it starts to buffer, so I hit send, knowing it’ll upload as soon as I have better service. Shoving the phone back into my pocket, I head out of the room and start down the hall, but my heart sinks when I realize Zane is nowhere to be found.

Fuck, this is not the day to lose him. Panic rushes up my spine. It’s hours before eight o’clock, but I don’t know where the hell it’s all going down, or what any of it means.

I probably should let this go. I should walk my ass to the Foundry and show the video to Rathyn, let him handle it. But I need this in my life. I need something to give me purpose, so I’m not sitting around jerking myself half-blind to memories of Eissa.

I can’t keep waiting for the nothing he plans on giving me. I’m not going to change his mind. It doesn’t matter how much he wants me or what we shared. Once again, I’m not good enough, and I suppose when I think about the Vyastil, it makes sense.

If Zinni was sent to the mines to work himself to death over a missing tail, it’s no wonder Eissa finds his attraction to me absolutely repellent.

It hurts. No, it more than hurts. It aches in a way I can’t describe, but it is what it is, and it’s better that I accept the reality of it now. So I take a breath and stride back onto the gym floor, a loud noise of relief escaping me when I spot Zane running on the treadmill. Luckily, he has headphones on, so he didn’t hear me. I collect myself before jumping on an elliptical and beginning a leisurely pace.

For now, I will wait.

I will be patient.

And once Dante gets the video translated for me, I’ll make sure Zane can’t enact his plan—whatever the fuck it is.

Dante does not get the video translated. It shows delivered on my end, but there’s no response from him. I do my best not to panic. I’m sure he’s fine. He’s on a new treatment, and he’s safe at home with Cielo.

But it means my only option at this point is to follow Zane. It’s almost seven now, and the weirdo actually spent the entire day at the gym. I’ve never done that before, but I managed to seem inconspicuous. Now I’m following behind him in the parking lot as he heads toward his car.

It’s only when he starts wandering around that I realize he seems lost. Like his mind was so focused on something else that he forgot what he’d been doing all day. He’s pale, and I can see his fingers shaking as he pulls his keys out of his bag. He opens his back door to toss his things inside before climbing behind the wheel.

These are not the actions of someone who’s behaving rationally. This is someone on drugs or someone up to no good.

Or maybe both. With Zane, I can’t be sure.

Checking my phone one last time, my heart sinks when I see there’s no response from Dante. So really, this is the only choice I have. I hop in my own car, which isn’t parked too far from Zane’s, and follow him as he pulls onto the street.

He’s driving erratically, but there are no cars or cops around to do anything about it. All I can do is keep my distance so he doesn’t realize I’m following him. We’re nearing the edge of town when he finally makes a sudden, sharp right turn, and I pass him, making the next right on the other side of a massive apartment building.

When I come around the other side of the street, I see his car is parked. And when I blink, I catch a quick glimpse of him hurrying into the building. I snag a parking spot across from the building, turn off my car, then sit back. Then I lift my chin and look up at what has to be at least sixteen floors.

Damn.

This place is nice. It’s one of those luxury buildings with a little market on the ground floor that only residents are allowed to shop in. It doesn’t seem like a place people his age could afford, which probably means he has rich parents.

Or connections.

Or both.

Not that I care. The only thing that matters now is proving I was right about him. Or I was wrong. So long as no one gets hurt, it’ll be fine.

And I can do this all night. I think.

Maybe.

As I sit there, time starts to feel like it’s slowing down, and after a while, I feel like I’m losing it. I run a hand through my hair and sigh. Maybe I should head home. Zane could just be having a bad day, or a bad week or something. Maybe I’m just projecting my bullshit on him because I’m avoiding everything with Eissa.

Shit, if I have to owe this gym bro douchebag an apology, I’m going to scream. I’m going to⁠—

My thoughts cut off when he appears again. He’s cloaked in a hood and dark pants, but I know it’s him based on the way he walks. The moon is high in the sky, stars hidden behind the smog and the clouds. And even so, his gait is evident.