Their eyes locked.
The boy’s eyes narrowed—suspicion, mistrust—before his expression smoothed into indifference, and he shrugged and turned away.
The man beside her finally spoke again.
“Kiki, I’d like you to meet Brie.”
He gestured toward the girl on the swing.
“And that’s Eric. They are like you. Gifted in different ways, but still gifted.”
Neither child moved.
Brie looked up and offered a small, hesitant smile. Kiki felt herbreath catch. Somewhere deep in her chest, the first spark of something new stirred.
Not hope.
Not yet.
But… possibility.
The man placed a hand on her shoulder. It was meant to be reassuring.
It wasn’t.
“Welcome to your new life… and your new family.”
Sixteen
Nikos didn’t care about the food anymore. His gaze was glued to Kiki. He released a shuddering breath. He hadfeltlike he wastherewith her—was her—as she relived it.
It took a moment for him to realize that she had somehow shared her memories with him. There was an intimacy to it that took his breath away. He wasn’t sure she even realized she’d done it.
The second Kiki stood and turned away, something in him shifted. The look in her eyes—raw, haunted, still flickering with the ghosts of her past—hit him like a punch to the gut.
He followed her into the living room, his footsteps silent on the hardwood floor. He reached out, his fingers brushing her arm.
“Kiki—”
She stopped.
Then, without a word, she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Kissing him.
It wasn’t a tentative kiss.
It wasn’t careful.
It was full of the ache of memory, the burn of survival, and something more powerful than both—want.
His breath hitched as her lips met his—soft, searching, sure. He responded instantly, cupping her face. His fingers threaded through the damp ends of her hair. Her body pressed against his as if she belonged there, and for the first time in his life, Nikos believed in fate.
Even as fire licked through him, regret tugged at his conscience. He wouldn’t—couldn’t—take advantage of her vulnerability. Enough people had done that in her brief life, and he’d be damned if he would be another.
As if she heard his thoughts, Kiki drew back just enough to look up at him. Her smile was gentle. Knowing.
“I let the pain of what happened go a long time ago,” she murmured, reaching up and caressing his cheek. “As well as the fear. It’s not me I’m scared for now—it’s you… Markos… Brie. I’ll never let them control me again, but they can still hurt the ones I love.”
