Play Mine (Brooklyn Dawn #3) - Cari Quinn Page 0,56
than that was a definite no.
Zane shook his head. “I was just sitting with what was left of the band. Jamie dared me to down the shark drink. I’m pretty sure the fin was a gummy of some sort.”
“Was it a special gummy?” I said around a gulp.
Please don’t make it anything worse. Oh, please.
“Pretty sure the whole drink was far more special than any of us knew.” Misery soaked Zane’s voice. “After that, it’s absolutely black.”
“I ate a gummy off the rim,” I recalled. “It didn’t taste funny. But I didn’t try the drink.”
“Wish I could say the same.”
I reached into the back and took my phone, and then opened my browser. I typed in Zane’s name and got over twenty hits.
Zane partying at Purgatory. Jamie laughing as he got onto the table. There were dozens of pictures from the club then there seemed to be a break in time.
Jamie seemed to have gotten in her usual brand of trouble. Was that a conga line?
“Do you remember this?” I handed Zane my phone.
“Uh, definitely not. Did I get on a table?”
I sighed. “Pretty sure there’s video.”
Cooper stopped at a red light and bounced his forehead on the steering wheel.
“What was I doing in Times Square?” Zane’s voice went shrill and high. “I hate Times Square.”
Cooper’s jaw was locked, and his knuckles were white on the steering wheel.
“This is why you didn’t want to tell me? What exactly would this accomplish?”
“You wouldn’t be a sickly grayish-white right now, that’s what.”
I lifted my chin. “You can’t shield me from being scared.”
“Yes, I fucking can.”
“No, you can’t. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.” I was pretty sure I was going to puke, but I could handle it after that. Probably.
My fingers shook enough that I fisted them and tucked them under my crossed arms.
“We don’t know anything for sure, but do you know anything else other than drugs that would make him black out and steal a freaking car?”
“What?” I twisted around to stare at Zane. “You stole the car?”
My stomach pitched. Maybe that puking thing wasn’t that far off.
All this was so out of character for him. For God’s sake, I wasn’t sure if he’d even ever lifted a bottle of water from a hotel room.
“I guess?”
“Oh my God. You don’t know?”
“What part of blackout aren’t you getting?” Cooper snapped.
“Don’t yell at me!”
“Don’t ask stupid questions.”
“Pull the fuck over, and let me out.”
“Are you crazy?”
“I don’t know. Am I stupid and crazy now?”
He stepped on the accelerator and got on the highway. “No. You know I don’t think that.”
Tears pricked my eyes. “Could have fooled me.”
“More like I’m imagining it was you, dammit.”
And the waterworks flooded my eyes. I hated that crying was my default when everything got overwhelming. I wanted to stuff it down. Wanted to be able to control it all and be calm about this.
I was fine. But it could have been so much worse.
Could have been me.
I turned to stare out the passenger window as I brushed away tears.
“Ah, hell.” Cooper reached across to brush his fingers over my cheek.
I batted his hand away. “Don’t.”
No one spoke, and with each mile, the air got heavier with unease. Were they thinking like me? The whirl of what might have beens, and what still could be?
Zane still had my phone and was searching for details about his wild night. At least I hoped he was still searching. I was pretty sure there weren’t any incriminating photos on my phone.
Incriminating photos. God, that was even worse. Could Priscilla have meant to get some on me, for blackmail? Or even worse? Why would she want to do that to me?
It just didn’t make sense.
“Do you really think she meant it for me?” I asked quietly.
Before anyone could answer, my phone rang.
“Lila.” Zane’s voice was flat as he lifted the phone to his ear. “Hello?”
My stomach pitched again. She had to know. Why was she calling me?
Zane paused as if he was listening, then he cleared his throat. “Right. I’ll put you on speaker.”
“Mr. Dallas, Miss Daly, I wish I could say it was a pleasure to speak with you, but this, in a word, is a clusterfuck. Do you realize what is on the news outlets about Mr. Landry?”
I really hated when she used formal names. It was worse than when my mother used my middle name.
“We’re piecing it together as we go, Lila.” Cooper’s tone was steady and calm. He took my hand and laced our fingers together.