“Stop laughing at me,” Astoria rasped, her voice husky from the hours of screaming Alec had wrung out of her.
Nolan’s laugh died instantly. He leaned close, brushing his knuckles against her hair. Astoria squinted at me, causing me to step back to flick off the harsh overhead lights, leaving us in the softer wash of the emergency overhead lighting.
“Better?” I asked.
Astoria gave a small nod, wild eyes darting between me, Acelynn, and finally settling on Nolan. Relief softened her face as she reached for him. He caught her hand, squeezing tight.
“My brain feels funny. Like it was scrambled and then deep fried,” she mumbled, her eyelids heavy.
“You need rest,” Nolan murmured, bending to kiss her hairline. His hand smoothed back the baby hairs sticking to her damp skin before cupping her cheek.
She shook her head slightly, lower lip trembling. “Just don’t leave me alone, Nolan.”
“Never, princess.” He kissed her forehead again, inciting a contented sigh from Astoria’s lips.
But before the meds could pull her fully under again, I stepped closer, folding my arms over my chest. “Not yet. You and I need to talk.”
Her gaze snapped to mine, face draining of the little color it had. The flicker of guilt glinted in her green eyes. Nolan turned toward me, his lips drew back in a grim line, a pulling at his lips. “Kaius?—”
“No.” My voice cut him off, low and sharp. He didn’t get a say in this. Right now, I wasn’t coddling my little sister for her wrongdoings. Acelynn shifted uncomfortably as I continued, “We’re not doing this shit later. She talks now.”
Astoria’s throat worked as she swallowed, her hand tightening around Nolan’s. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. It was all me, though. I tipped off the feds about thenight Oscar was killed because I knew Acelynn would blame herself. He told me she would blame herself, and he wanted her to be on edge.”
Her eyes filled with tears as she looked toward Acelynn. “It was me who broke into your house. Logan told me I needed to draw the symbols and leave the weird, cryptic note on your wall. Before I left, he planted the snake. And the Polaroids…I planted the camera in Kaius’s room and followed you to get the other images. I never found the photo in your car. It was just another way they wanted to fuck with your head. I thought if they continued to taunt you, you would run and stay away. I regret it. I regret every single thing that I did for them. It not only hurt you, but it got you arrested that day, Nolan. All I was trying to do was protect you. Protect all of you.”
Nolan’s jaw clenched. “Protect me? By setting me up to rot in a cell?”
The tears began to fall down her cheeks. Astoria looked down at their hands. “You don’t understand. Alec threatened to kill you all. Logan was his errand boy who made sure I didn’t stop doing their dirty work. Alec said if I didn’t play along, if I didn’t feed them information, they’d put you in the ground. I thought if I kept them focused on me, if I gave them just enough…I thought I could keep you safe.”
Acelynn stirred in the corner, her voice breaking. “Astoria…”
I cut her off with a snarl. “Don’t you dare romanticize this.”
Stepping forward, I leaned down over the hospital bed, getting eye level with Astoria. “You think handing our people over to the wolves makes you some kind of savior? No. It makes you their fucking pawn.”
Her breath hitched, tears spilling. My voice dropped to a lethal whisper. “You tipped the feds. You sold out Nolan. You kept secrets while Alec broke your bones. And for what? Because Logan pointed a gun in your face while hiding behind his leader?You put us all on the board. And now he’s still out there, breathing. Do you understand what that means? He will come back. He will make this personal. And when he does, the blood will be on your hands first.”
A broken sob broke through her lips. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” Nolan snapped, but his grip on her hand didn’t loosen. His anger warred with the softness in his eyes, his voice cracking as he added, “You should’ve trusted me.”
Her lips trembled. “I was trying to save you.”
“Save us?” I let out a low laugh, cruel and humorless. “No, Astoria. You played right into Alec’s game. You thought you were smart enough to outwit him, and look where that got you. Flat on your back, broken and bleeding, while Logan’s still out there free. You didn’t save anyone. You damned us all.”
Silence weighed heavily over the room. Nolan lowered his head, pressing his lips once more to Astoria’s hair, even as his shoulders shook with restrained rage. Astoria’s sobs quieted into soft hiccups, shame sinking her deeper into the mattress. And in the corner, Acelynn’s hand found mine, her grip trembling, as if she already knew Logan’s shadow wasn’t leaving us anytime soon.
The door creaked open, dragging me out of the silence. Detective Watson slipped in, the weight of his badge dragging at his shoulders. His eyes swept the room, lingering on Astoria’s swollen face, then catching the way Nolan still hadn’t let go of her hand as he glared daggers at the detective.
“You weren’t supposed to be here this long,” Watson muttered, shutting the door behind him. “Hospital staff talk. And right now, the last thing I need is whispers about certain faces showing up on security footage. Visiting hours are over.”
“Then stop wasting time,” I snapped. “Say what you came to say.”
His jaw clenched, but he pulled a worn manila folder from under his arm. He dropped it onto the bedside table, letting the contents spill—a handful of fake IDs, driver’s licenses, and credit cards. All Astoria’s face, all different names. Acelynn sucked in a sharp breath. Nolan stiffened.
Watson folded his arms, tone clipped. “I want the truth, Astoria. How long have you been running with these?”
Her mouth opened, closed, her face pale. “I-I don’t know. Months. A year. It started with Logan. He said it was the only way to stay invisible, to keep you guys guessing. I didn’t think?—”
