“Semantics,” Gia said to poke fake holes in my theory.
“Maybe. But our first night in the cabin, I had a nightmare. He got me off the couch and brought me into the room with him, and he held me so I could fall asleep.”
I grimaced at Landon’s pained expression, but he shook his head and encouraged me to go on.
“He told me the same thing that night, too. He said I was safe now.” My heart clenched at the memory. “And he wouldn’t let anything hurt me.”
Landon’s eyebrows jumped, and Gia held up a Post-it with #JusticeforMaxDread written on it.
“And you really think he’d do that?” Landon asked. “Try to send you a message that way?”
“After Kingston pointed out that I took things literally and I made his ass wait two hours before I followed his orders that didn’t specify a timeframe? Abso-fucking-lutely.”
Gia chuckled. “You’re my hero.”
I smiled. “He also took something else Kingston said to heart that night, so I believe he’s hoping I’ll see that.” I sighed, needing to at least voice this fear. “At least, for now. If he does anything that proves otherwise, I’ll regroup. But as long as I can find clues in what he’s saying,andthey make sense, I won’t give up on him.”
“Hear! Hear!” Gia cried, holding up another Post-it with my stick figure doppelgänger climbing a weirdly attractive man-tree wearing a smirk.
Laughing, I shook my head at her before turning to Landon, unable to keep the hope off my face.
He nodded, pulling me into his arms. “We’ll figure out a way to help him out of this.”
“Thank you, Buns.”
Gia sighed dreamily before she refocused. “So, what’s the plan then? How are you going to get your man?”
“Well, the Nobility Challenge’s training structure helps. My plan is to get him alone during our sessions to try and get the answers out of him. But that’s all I’ve got.”
Gia rubbed her hands together. “Well, it just so happens I devised a plan,andI prepared you for it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Check the zipper pocket in the back of your suitcase.”
Bringing the phone with me, I pulled my unpacked suitcase out of the closet. I rustled through it, shoving my dirty laundry bag aside, until I found what Gia meant. Holding up the items, I stared between them and her with myResting Skeptic Facefirmly in place.
“Gia, what the hell am I supposed to do with this?”
She laughed. “If you want to make him lose control and tell you anything you want to know,thatis how you’re going to do it. Honestly, I packed it for you to use on Kingston, but he’s been surprisingly forthcoming as of late.”
“Gia! I can’t wear this to training.”
“Says who?”
My mouth twisted into a frown, but when I held it up for Landon to see, his eyebrows shot up. He coughed to clear his throat as he adjusted his position on the bed.
I gave the point to Gia. “Alright, fine. You win. And, for the record, you’re unhinged.”
She blew me a kiss. “And you love me.”
“I really, really do.”
After we said our goodbyes, I brought my surprise over to the bed, thinking through my plan. Worry over Max would keep me up all night if I didn’t find a way to relax.
As I twisted the fabric in my grip, Landon examined the outfit up close, and his eyes grew progressively wider.
“Oh, just spit it out.”
