“Yes.”
“Doing what?”
“Healing.”
“Healing.” Theo’s voice was thick with disbelief, his dark eyes narrowing on me.
“Among other things,” I said.
“Care to elaborate?”
“Not especially.” I hesitated with the next part. “But he said he won’t help you anymore if something like this happens to me again.”
I neglected to mention the death threats.
Theo’s gaze sharpened, suspicions forming in his eyes. He folded his hands on his desk. “Why?”
“I think he feels…protective of me.” Understatement, yes, but Theo didn’t need to know that.
“We’re talking about the same man, correct?”
I glared at him.
“I don’t get it. You’re just a contact.” He raised his eyebrows. “Right?”
I fidgeted with a hole in my sweatpants. “Maybe I’m notjusta contact to him.”
“Then what are you?”
I took a breath and scratched my face, uncertain what to say.
“Is he forcing you, Sophia?”
Nowhe chose to care? Where was this concern months ago when I was terrified each Thursday about what Lucas Scott the Blood Colonel would do to me that night?
“Would it matter if he was?” I asked. “Isn’t that what you wanted from me? Weren’t you under the assumption I’d end up with my legs spread for him?”
Theo flinched.
“You never even asked. I gave you the opportunity to ask, and you buried your head in the sand and changed the subject.”
“I didn’t want to hear about it. You said you asked him for it. What was I supposed to think?”
“You should have asked! You abandoned me and offered no support. Even Lucas knew what you thought would happen to me. You should’ve seen his disgust when he realized who I am to you.”
Theo’s jaw hardened. “I fought Williams to give you the choice. I thought you’d say no, but you didn’t. I never wanted this for you. Scott is a monster, and before this is over, I will kill him for what he’s done to you.”
NotI will kill him for being a Hunter, orI will kill him for how many people he’s murdered, butI will kill him for what he’s done to you.
Something shifted in my mind as I realized the source of Theo’s hatred. With how much Lucas had helped us, Theo should have been singing his praises, but he wasn’t. He’d offered me as collateral, but he hated Lucas for accepting it.
Voice softer, I leaned forward. “Theo, do you know what he’s been doing every time I meet with him?”
“I can imagine.”
I shook my head. “He’s been teaching me how to fight. His training is the only reason I survived that mission. The man you see on TV doesn’t exist, Theo. The real Lucas Scott never wanted any of this. His sister was a spy. She got caught and killed, and he took her place.”
Theo’s frown creased his entire face. “His sister was…a spy?”
