Chapter 4

“Hey,” Dan said.

“Hey,” Lucas answered.

A beat and then a sigh. Dan’s voice was sure but full of emotion when he said, “Things are going to change, Rourke.”

“I can see that.”

So far so good. From what I could hear, this was the best take yet, but the next part was where it all went to hell. I had to remind myself not to hold my breath.

“Get better fast, Riley. I’ll be waiting for you. And then we’ll see where this leads, okay? No more pretending.”

Utter and complete silence. No one moved. No one said a word. The air was pregnant with expectation.

“Cut,” Connie said, and I nearly wept in relief because I could tell that this time, it wasn’t full of frustration. I opened my eyes and craned my neck to the side, where I could see Connie staring at the monitor in front of her. A few more seconds where no one dared to breathe, and finally Connie sighed. “That’ll do. Let’s call it a day, people.”