Chapter 4

The elevator was packed. The air was thick with awkward excitement.

Jack's parents were still kissing my ass. "Lane, Jack never stops talking about you—says meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to him."

"He's right! You've been more of a brother to him than we ever could have been. We can never thank you enough."

Emily's parents elbowed their way in. "Lane, don't listen to them. Emily loves you more than anything. That VP promotion—she's been working so hard, and with your father's help, it's finally happening. We're just so grateful you married our daughter."

My father stood behind me, one hand resting on my shoulder. I could feel the weight of it, the heat of his barely contained fury.

He was holding it together. So was I.

But my stomach was on fire. A knot of acid climbing up my throat, burning all the way.

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open.

I walked to Jack's door. The same door I'd knocked on so many times over the years. I pulled out my phone and called him first.

"Hey Lane, what's up?" He sounded half-asleep. Guarded.

"Nothing big. Just wanted to check—are you home alone? I need to stop by. Got something to talk about."

The line went dead for a second. Then: "Yeah! Yeah, I'm alone. But I'm... I'm already in bed, man. Can it wait 'til tomorrow? I'm wrecked."

Still lying. I could hear the panic bleeding through his voice.

"Yeah. Get some rest."

I hung up. Called Emily next.

"Hey babe. You home alone? Need to swing by real quick."

Her voice was even tenser than Jack's. "Yes! Yes, I'm home alone. Just got done with work, actually."

A beat. She must have realized she sounded too eager, because she laughed and added: "What, you miss me already? If it weren't so late, I'd drive out to see you right now."

Right. She was in bed with another guy, but she'd drive out to see me.

I hung up without answering.

The noise behind me had died. Even Jack's parents, even Emily's—they'd heard enough to know something was off. The excitement had curdled into unease.

Jack's mom grabbed my arm. "Lane—honey—what's going on? Why did you bring us all here?"

I turned to face them. All those anxious, confused faces.

"Like I said. Surprise."

I pulled the spare key out of my pocket. The one Jack had pressed into my hand years ago. "For emergencies," he'd said.

Click.

The lock turned.