“I don’t,” I snap. “But she’s lying on broken glass.”
“Okay. So I’ll slip a pack of Band-aids under the door.”
“That’s what you can do,” I say suddenly, breathing easier. “Go see her again.”
“Uh…”
“You’ve always been a brother to me, Logan. I wouldn’t ask this of anyone else. But I trust you. She’s probably going insane from being alone so much. Stay with her for a while. Okay? Watch a movie or—”
“Definitely not,” he interrupts. “I would do anything for you, Damien. But not that. Anyway, it won’t help.”
I take a deep breath, willing my anger to stay down. I’m not used to Logan resisting a direct order. “Why not?”
“Well, for one, I’m pretty sure she’s terrified of me. Didn’t you… didn’t you see how she reacted when I walked in?”
The unease in his voice is back, and I try to make sense of it as the old migraine beats down on me. “I guess the only time she saw you, you were telling Igor to point a gun at her.”
He exhales. “Right. Pretty sure she’d wet her pants if I told her I was going to spend time with her. She’s already falling apart. Hanging out with someone she thinks wants her dead won’t do it.”
I rub the bridge of my nose. “Fine. But you’ll need to keep bringing her meals for the moment. I won’t be back till Wednesday, and we haven’t been able to get Lucy out yet. I think we can manage it pretty soon, though. They’ve charged her with a petty crime from ten years ago that has nothing to do with what they suspect us of. But they can’t hold her indefinitely on that. I don’t think she’s squealed.”
“She wouldn’t,” says Logan loyally.
I hang up the phone, my thoughts still on Seraphina, and walk out of the bathroom. I nearly run into Vale.
“So,” he whispers. “Having trouble with the pet?”
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter.”
“You sure spend a lot of time thinking about something that doesn’t matter. She killed a jellyfish?” he says the words with a snort, and I glower at him, realizing he’s overheard my phone conversation. “She’s openly defying you,” he growls. “Kill her.”
“She’s going to get what’s coming to her,” I snap, then shut the door in his face.
Back in the bathroom, I put in an earpiece to prevent Vale from overhearing me. Then I call the private line to her apartment. I reach the answering machine three times. By the fourth, I’m ready to wring her neck.
At last, though, I see her stand up slowly and head to the telephone.
“Hello?” she says in a dull voice.
Anger makes my voice cold. “There’s a broom in the entrance closet. Clean up the mess.”
She waits a beat. “No.”
My hands clench into fists, even as I’m thankful Vale doesn’t hear her answers. If she were defying me in front of him, I don’t know what I’d do.
“Clean it up, or I’ll have Logan take care of it.”
On the feed, I see her stiffen. So sheisafraid of him. Terrified.
“Okay,” she mumbles.
“And eat the food on the table. You haven’t touched your dinner.”
Another pause. “I’m waiting for you.”
I force myself to remain angry, even though her answer makes my throat constrict. So all of thisisabout the dinner, then. She must have attached a lot more importance to it than I realized.
“I’m not here, and I won’t be back for another three days at least. Logan will bring you your meals. If you don’t eat, he’ll force-feed you. And he won’t be as gentle about it as me. You hear me?”
