"Whoa, what? No." Cass physically stepped in front of me, blocking my path. Instinctively I reached for my gun but silently cursed when my hand touched air. I'd taken my weapons off in Zed's car so the hospital staff wouldn't lose their minds when I was admitted.
"Here, boss," Zed said, holding out a silver 9mm Beretta to me. "Grabbed an extra for you." He shot me a wink as I took it from him, and Cass just glowered harder. Damn, he was basically part storm cloud for how thunderous he managed to get his expression.
"Hades," he growled.
"Cass," I replied, giving him an unimpressed brow raise. "I appreciate the clothing, but now I need to go deal with some things."
His jaw tightened, a muscle twitching in his cheek under thick black stubble. "Don't shut me out, Red. I wanna help."
Not even getting nearly blown up would make me magically forget how he'd intentionally tried to hurt me rather than tell the truth last week, though. So I just gave a shrug and tucked Zed's gun into the back of my jeans.
"Well... you know what to do, Grumpy Cat." I gave him a condescending pat on the chest, then simply slipped straight past him. With no heels on, I was a full foot shorter than him—not great when I was having metaphorical dick-measuring competitions, but useful when I needed to be agile.
I didn't hang around, knowing Zed would catch up before I got to the elevators at the end of the hall. He did, too, his shoulder brushing mine as we stepped into the carriage. As the doors slid closed, I caught a glimpse of Cass punching a wall.
"So... something going on there?" Zed asked after a moment of silence.
I gave him a sharp look, confused for a second, then remembered he had no idea Cass and I had kissed... several times. All Zed knew was that I'd made a pass at Cass and been rejected.
"Uh..." I considered the question. "There was, briefly."
Zed scoffed a laugh. "I'm guessing, based on that interaction, he fucked it up somehow?"
I drew a deep breath, then exhaled heavily. Fuck me, I hurt all over. "Yep."
He shook his head. "What a fucking idiot."
I was inclined to agree. "Well, we have bigger fish to fry right now, Zayden De Rosa." I met his gaze, letting my apathetic mask fall for a moment and giving him a glimpse of the fear coursing through me. Fear that got worse with every additional attack and every paranoid thought. "I think Chase is behind this."
Zed jerked in alarm. "That's impossible."
I shrugged. The elevator doors opened once more, and we stepped out onto the busy ground floor of the hospital. We navigated our way through the people and out into the midafternoon sunlight. It seemed weird for it to be daylight still, given all that had happened in my day. But no matter how badly I might pray for the world to stop, it just kept on turning.
Zed's car was parked in the open-air parking a short walk away with a fine under his windshield wiper. He just plucked it off and screwed it up, then opened the passenger door for me.
"I know it's impossible," I told him when we were safe within the confines of his car. He didn't immediately turn the engine on, instead just shifting to face me in his seat with a deep frown on his face. "I know what I did. But... are we totally sure he died?"
Zed's look was incredulous. "You think he could have survived a bullet to the face at point-blank range and a gas explosion?"
Frustrated, I chewed the edge of my thumbnail until Zed tugged on my wrist, and I groaned. "I don't know what else to think, Zed. Nothing else even remotely makes sense. This is all so... fucking personal. 7th Circle was the last straw. It can't be anyone but Chase. Can it?"
He just stared at me, horrified by the suggestion but also not offering me any other explanations. Fucking hell.
"Look, I don't know. I saw you shoot him; that's something I know for sure. Whether he survived... with the fire after? It seems too farfetched." He shook his head, running his hand over his buzzed hair. "But... his body was pretty badly burned up when they pulled him out..."
Dread churned through me. I'd wanted him to tell me I was being hysterical, that there was no way Chase could be back, tormenting me.
"We need to know for sure," I murmured, my skin prickling with apprehension. "We need to close this question once and for all, or the paranoia will drive us crazy. That's probably what he fucking wants. You know how he got off on my fear. You saw." Those words tasted like poison on my tongue as I acknowledged the tapes that Zed had seen—my absolute darkest moments that had made me want to die.
Zed swallowed hard. "Yeah," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "I know."
I nodded several times, confirming to myself that this was the right course of action. The only course of action.
"So, that's what we need to do, then. We need to dig up his grave and DNA test the remains." That sentence out loud almost sounded like a joke, and I needed to swallow the hysterical laugh that threatened to bubble out of me.
Zed blew out a long breath, whispering a curse. But he didn't disagree. Instead, he just stared out into the distance for a moment, drumming his fingertips on the steering wheel, then nodded.
"Alright. But tomorrow. You nearly died today, Dare, and you're black and blue as a result. Promise me one night of rest, and tomorrow I'll help you exhume the body of legitimately the most twisted son of a bitch I've ever known. Deal?"
I wanted to argue and demand we go right now. But he had a point. I was in no state to dig up a grave alone, not tonight, anyway. And I could already tell he wouldn't be persuaded otherwise. So I gave a jerking nod.
"Deal," I agreed. "Tomorrow. Hell, he's been dead for five fucking years; what harm will one more day do?"
Zed winced. "Don't say that. Now I'm going to be all keyed up and jumping at shadows for the next twenty-four hours." He turned his car on, and I buckled my seat belt.
We drove in silence for a while, until I noticed Zed taking a detour from the quickest route to my home and gave him a quizzical look.
"Dallas sorted you out a new phone this afternoon," he answered my silent question. "Figured you'd want it sooner rather than later."
I gave him an appreciative smile. "You know me so well."
He shot me a look from the corner of his eye. "Better than anyone, boss."
We pulled up outside Dallas's adorable suburban house and only waited a minute before he came out to the car with a baby carrier strapped to his front and a sleeping infant tucked inside.
He brought his finger to his lips before he reached us and silently handed a phone through the open window to me.
I mouthed my thanks to him, and he gave a little salute before heading back inside with a bouncing gait, clearly paranoid about waking the baby up.
Zed pulled away from the curb, and I pulled a sticky note off the front of the phone to read it. It was just brief instructions for how to unlock it and reactivate all my wiped data from the old phone.
Within a few minutes, I was back up and running. Then I groaned when the unread messages started rolling in.
"Shit," I muttered, "Seph drove past 7th on her way home. She's freaking the fuck out."
Zed wrinkled his nose. "Can't have been long ago; she usually has some after-school shit on a Thursday, doesn't she?"