I already sent them home to their families. I can’t stand people hovering when I’m trying to work, watching my every move as if I might break. My job is to hack. Not theirs.
That part belongs to Enzo and me.
I learned it straight from Lev.
And if this goes wrong, it won’t be because I didn’t do my part.
The call cuts.
Tatiana’s system is ash. Which is more about showing her that she can’t keep using the tools I built her. That I really am her enemy now.
We’re closer now. Too close to stop.
I pour myself a whiskey and stare out over the woods, the moon cutting silver through the trees. It makes me think of Lily. I wonder if she put her crystals out tonight.
I almost check the monitors.
Almost.
But I don’t.
That habit ends here.
Because watching her isn’t enough anymore. Keeping her safe from a distance isn’t enough. I don’t want to learn her through screens. I want her beside me. Her fears. Her rituals. Her quiet moments. Standing under the moon together.
Keeping her safe isn’t enough anymore.
I want a life with her.
And I’ll burn the world down to make sure she gets one.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Lily
Song- MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, Elley Duhé
It’s three in the morning. The moon shines bright through my window, and I stare at it like it might give me answers if I wait long enough.
The longer I lie here, the louder my thoughts get, the tighter my chest feels. So instead of staying trapped in my head, I sit up. Rather than phoning Hallie, I decide I need to journal. Or something. Anything to clear my mind.
My anxiety is unpredictable. Some days, I hardly notice it’s there. Other days, it’s all I can feel. It consumes every breath I take. I have a whole host of coping mechanisms, which sometimes work, other times don’t even scratch the surface.
I’ve spent five years learning the different parts of my anxiety and how to coexist with them. It’s a full-time job, just trying to ‘be normal’. Except, since I’ve moved in here, that nagging voice that says ‘what if’ is quieter.
Even though I may have ended things with Drago, he is still the man keeping me safe.
As I stop by the dresser, I remember the white sage tucked into the drawer. Maybe there’s just too much negative energy in this house right now.
Plus, it’s a full moon. Perfect timing. At the very least, it’s a distraction.
I grab the sage and head downstairs, searching for a lighter. There has to be one somewhere in this kitchen. I flick on the lights. The house feels strange when it’s silent. My dad must have gone to bed. And Drago? Who knows. I wouldn’t even know if he came home.
I start rummaging through drawers when the front door closes softly.
My heart pounds.
Footsteps follow.
