Blew a kiss. Left.
Of all the things he said, my brain snagged on temporary.
The kitchen was loud enough to feel normal.
That’s when I heard my father’s name.
“Rowan’s supposed to deliver him,” Slate said.
“Alive,” Grim replied. “That was the condition.”
“And when he does?”
A pause.
“Then the kid goes back.”
I stopped moving.
“Kellan’s leverage tied to Saint,” Grim went on. “Always was.”
It felt strange hearing it that clearly.
Commodity.
Nothing more.
I poured coffee without letting my hands shake and left the room.
Back in Lock’s room, I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the cut folded on the chair.
The cut.
The protection.
The bed.
The care.
It was stupid to have read into any of it.
So why did knowing my time here was ending make me want to puke?
I should’ve wanted to go home.
That was the part that scared me.
When the door opened, I didn’t jump.
Somehow I knew it was Lock.
“We need to talk,” I said.
He closed the door behind him.
“You don’t get to decide what I can handle.”
“This was never equal,” he said quietly. “You were brought here for one reason.”
