Unwanted Blood (Harper) novel Chapter 27

Chapter 77

Chapter 27

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Lily froze, her jaw still moving around the egg, her cars turning a bright red that rose all the way to her hairline. Ethan stayed completely still, his arm extended across the laminate, his fingers trembling so hard the remaining half of the egg nearly slid into the broth.

I watched them from my side of the booth, my teeth digging into the inside of my lip to keep from letting out a loud laugh. The tension in the air was so thick it was almost funny. They both exchanged a glance and looked down at their respective bowls at the exact same time, their movements stiff as they began eating in silence.

I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing.

Through the large glass window behind them, I could see Ryder sitting alone at the metal table under the dark awning. A small container of noodles sat untouched in front of him.

He wasn’t eating.

Every few seconds, his eyes would drift through the glass, finding me in the bright light of the store, before he looked back down at the dark street.

The night breeze felt cold against my face as we turned onto the residential block. Up ahead, Lily and Ethan walked shoulder to shoulder, the space between them disappearing entirely until their coats brushed with every step they took.

Ryder and I fell into step behind them with a gap between us wide enough for a third person

“Harper,” he said suddenly.

“Yeah.”

“Today…” He paused, his stride faltering for a microsecond. “Thank you for letting me come…for not making me leave.”

I looked down at the cracks in the pavement, my hands deep in my pockets “Lily was the one who invited you up.”

“I know.” His voice was even. “But you could have left the second I showed up You didn’t

I kept my eyes on the pavement ahead. I didn’t answer for a long time We crossed under the broken streetlight near the alley, the dark shadows swallowing us for a few paces before the

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building’s security lights kicked in.

288 Your tes

The words came out of my mouth before my brain could stop them. “Tomorrow are you coming back tomorrow?”

Ryder stopped dead on the sidewalk. I took two more steps before realizing he wasn’t beside me. and turned around.

In the dim light of the entryway, he looked as if he had just been pulled from a wreck.

He took a deep, shuddering breath, his shoulders rising under the sweater, his voice coming out raw and slightly hoarse. “If you’ll let me.”

“Whatever you say, Ryder,” I murmured.

It was an old phrase. But this time, I knew he understood what I meant.

Inside the apartment, the quiet returned. Lily went straight into the bathroom, the roar of the shower starting a moment later. Ethan gave me a brief nod before stepping back out onto the stairwell to make a late-night call to his cousin in Calgary.

I sat on the edge of the small fabric sofa, the television remote heavy in my palm as I clicked through channels without registering the images.

My phone gave a short, dull buzz against the cushion. My fingers twitched, my chest tightening with the familiar, sickening drop that usually came with Marcus’s name. But Marcus hadn’t sent a text in forty-eight hours. Ever since Ethan’s cousin started digging into the port records, the man had gone completely dark, vanishing back into the darkness of the city.

The lack of messages didn’t put my mind at ease; it made me feel even more anxious.

I had already decided to take some time off tomorrow. I needed to lay out the timeline on the kitchen table, Everly’s dates, the safe deposit box, the phone registration, before the circle grew any smaller.

I flipped the phone over. The notification was from Ryder.

I’m back at the hotel. Good night, Harper. See you tomorrow.

I stared at the letters for a full minute, my thumb hovering over the glass keyboard. I typed two words.

Good night.

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After sending it. I looked at the cursor blinking against the gray background I hit the spacebar and added two more words before my thumb could hesitate.

Thank you.

I shut the device down, dropped it onto the coffee table, and turned off the single floor lamp.

The bedroom was pitch black when I slid under the heavy quilt. A few minutes passed, the only sound being the drip of the kitchen faucet. Then, from the other side of the mattress, Lily whispered.

“Harper? I think I might have a crush on Ethan.

I let out a low laugh into the pillow, the fabric muffling the sound. “Lily, a blind it from across the street.”

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