Page 15 of Left on Read

“Look at me.” Zane gripped my arms tight. “Riv,” he warned when I refused to meet his gaze.

Reluctantly, I lifted my eyes. His were full of understanding, which only made me feel worse.

“Take a deep breath.”

I did.

“Another. One more. Now tell me the facts.”

“I left the tools in the trunk, and they were stolen. I didn’t want to tell you because I was embarrassed. I looked for replacements on the buy and sell pages, checked the pawn shops and consignment stores, but couldn’t find anything. I got desperate and made a profile on Singles looking for some.”

Zane dropped his hands and scrunched up his forehead in confusion.

“I don’t know. I thought maybe there’d be a jilted woman on the app with a bunch of tools her ex left who’d be willing to sell them cheap.”

“Is that why you and Nick did that photoshoot?”

I nodded.

He smirked. “Leave it to Nick to do a full photoshoot for a fake dating profile. I take it the shoot worked?”

“Sort of.” I scrubbed my hand through my hair. I really needed to wash it. “I found a guy who’s willing to sell his tools for cheap. Too cheap. We’re getting one hell of a deal.”

“So, you’re meeting him to buy tools and not going on a date?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re sure this is legit? You’re not going to show up and get your ass kicked because he knows you’ve got cash on you, right?”

“I’m sure.” I waved at my phone, which was on my bedside table. “He sent pics of what he has. And he seems like a nice guy.”

“Most serial killers are outwardly nice guys.” He swiped up my phone and unlocked it.

It was hilarious that neither Zane nor I had to add our biometrics to each other’s phones. We had different fingerprints like all twins, but ours were so similar that our phones recognized them as the same. I still wasn’t sure if that was a major security issue or just a cool coincidence, but it made our lives easier.

I didn’t mind Zane asking questions and checking up on things. That’s who my brother was. He took care of people in his own way, and he’d been taking care of me since we were born.

I appreciated it, and I was damn lucky to have a brother like Zane.

“He’s selling all that for two hundred bucks?” Zane looked up from my phone in surprise. “Either this is a setup, or he really has no clue how much those are worth.”

“I’m thinking it’s the second.”

Zane handed me back my phone. “Put your location on when you go just to be safe. He seems legit, but this could be a fake account and he might not be who he says he is. Did you look up the address he gave you?”

Nodding, I tossed my phone onto my messy bed. “Yeah. It’s a regular house in a regular neighborhood. Not too far from Caleb’s. I don’t have a bad feeling about this.”

Zane’s expression softened. “Okay. As long as you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. Are you still going to Noah’s to watch the kids?”

Noah lived with his sister and her two young children, and Zane usually went over on Saturday and Sunday afternoons to babysit with Noah while Becca was at work.

He nodded.

“Have fun.”

He pulled his wallet out of his pocket.