Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
RIVER
A girls’ night. Exactly what I need after everything—after the dreams, the kiss, the betrayal I haven’t fully processed. Mask is Gage. Gage is Mask. And somehow that doesn’t make it better. It makes it worse.
Because I want someone I shouldn't be with. Work complicates things.
But tonight, I’m pushing all that aside. I need to be around other women, sipping wine, laughing over dumb movies and snacks, pretending I’m not one coded post away from losing my sanity.
Juno opens the door barefoot, a silk wrap dress flowing around her legs. “You made it,” she grins, pulling me into a warm hug. “I made sangria, and Lark’s already trying to pick a fight about pineapple on pizza.”
Juno’s place is in a cozy converted loft on the edge of downtown—brick walls, velvet curtains, books stacked sideways on every surface. It smells like rose water and cinnamon, and I instantly relax the second I walk in.
“I’m pro-pineapple,” I tell her, stepping in and spotting the other guest on the couch.
Lark Dawson. Gage’s little sister. I’ve seen her around the NovaPlay holiday parties—a little younger than me, with the same dark eyes as Gage, and the same mischievous smile that can melt granite.
“You must be River,” she says, hopping up and offering her hand. Her nails are painted alternating shades of black and silver. “You’re way too cool to be coding for NovaPlay.”
“I… that’s probably the nicest thing anyone’s said to me this week. Well, besides your brother.” However, I'm not going into specifics with his sister.
Juno snorts. “That’s a low bar.”
I smile, already feeling lighter.
We sip sangria, curl up on the sectional with fuzzy blankets, and go full girl-mode. Trashy romcoms playing in the background. Face masks. Lark painted a tiny heart on my cheek with eyeliner and declared me “reborn.”
Eventually, Tasha shows up.
I wasn’t sure she’d come. After everything that’s happened, she’s been distant. Not gone, just… quieter. I figured it was just the stress at work, but when she walks in tonight, she’s got a bottle of red in one hand and her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Hey, babes,” she says, kissing both my cheeks like she always used to.
We welcome her with open arms. I introduce her to Juno and Lark, and for the next hour, it’s just laughter.
Embarrassing stories. Juno tells one about her boyfriend, Arrow, trying to cook eggs shirtless and setting off the smoke alarm.
Lark reads our horoscopes in increasingly dramatic voices.
Tasha gossips about someone in accounting who got caught printing out fanfiction on company time.
“Seriously?” I ask, mouth full of popcorn.
“Erotic Sonic the Hedgehog,” she whispers, and we all scream-laugh.
It’s almost perfect. Almost.
But I catch it. Juno’s subtle shifts.
Whenever Tasha talks, Juno leans in too much. Asks too-specific questions.
“What was it like working in HR during the Mason thing?” she asks sweetly, topping off Tasha’s wine.
Tasha shrugs. “Pretty standard. Reports come in, we log them, escalate if needed.”
“But you were friends with both of them, right?” Juno presses. “That must’ve been tricky.”
Tasha’s jaw tightens for half a second before smoothing. “Yeah. But we’re professionals. I stayed neutral.”
“How is it working with my brother?” Lark asks, eyes shining brightly.
I roll my eyes, and Tasha smiles way too big.
“He’s definitely the office hottie. I’ve been trying to think of ways to ask him out.” Tasha takes a small sip of her wine.
Lark’s eyes meet mine, and I give her a blank stare. I don’t even know how to define what Gage is to me right now, and to put it into words in front of Tasha is not something I’m trying to do. “I think Gage has eyes for somebody else,” Lark says with a giggle.
“Who?” Tasha asks, obviously oblivious.
Lark laughs a bit louder. “He’s been crushing on River hard.”
Tasha’s eyes snap to mine, and the room quiets out. “Is that true?”
I grip onto my wine glass like it can ground me. I’ve never seen this look in Tasha’s eyes before. Like she’s pissed at this news. “Nothing official,” I say, not really sure where to go with it.
Tasha’s smile is immediate. Too immediate. “That’s great.” Her voice cracks on the last word.
Juno hums like she doesn’t quite buy it.
And I…
I watch the back-and-forth with a slow-burning suspicion. Not because of what they’re saying. But because of what they aren’t.
The mood picks back up. We move to the floor for a tarot reading. Lark flips the cards like she’s channeling spirits.
“River, your love life card is literally The Tower,” she announces.
I groan. “Of course it is.”
“It means change,” Juno says quickly. “Upheaval. Intensity.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Tasha laughs.
But something in my chest tightens.
Later, after Lark starts a group selfie contest and Tasha’s in the bathroom, I corner Juno in the kitchen.
She’s opening another bottle of wine, but when she sees my face, she pauses. “What’s up?”
“You tell me,” I say quietly. “You’ve been grilling Tasha all night.”
Juno doesn’t lie. She sets the bottle down and leans on the counter.
“River… I didn’t want to drag you into this too fast. But we’re looking into something. And we needed to see how she reacted.”
My stomach dips.
“Are you saying… you think Tasha’s involved?”
Juno lifts her brows. “I’m saying… we don’t know. Yet. But some of what we’ve found points to someone with internal access. And she’s on a very short list.”
I glance back at the living room. Tasha is laughing with Lark, holding a glass of wine, her face lit up.
“I invited her here tonight,” I whisper. “She brought me wine.”
“And we’re not accusing her of anything,” Juno says firmly. “We’re just watching. Listening. Trust me, I know how it feels when you don’t know who to trust.”
I nod. My hands are shaking.
“I’ll protect you,” Juno says. “We all will.”
For the first time in weeks, I feel like someone means it.
Even if it means breaking my own heart later.