Kellan nodded. “Of course. The others will be back soon. I’ll intercept them for you.”
Ciaran chuckled. “No, it’s fine. I’ll be out to see them.”
Kellan stopped at the doorway. “I uh, I took the liberty of calling Norway.”
“Oh?” Ciaran was surprised, though he really shouldn’t be because someone in this consortium needed to be the acting leader when Ciaran clearly hadn’t been.
“Yes,” Kellan said, brows knitting together. “I uh, I wanted to ask him about the siren call thing, to see if my theory held water.” He cringed at himself. “So to speak.”
Ciaran couldn’t help but smile at him. “That’s fine.”
“I told them what the Bass Strait consortium had said, and then, of course, that all marine life seems to have evacuated from the trench.” He glanced at Sawyer before he met Ciaran’s eyes. “And I had to tell them about you and Sawyer so they got the whole picture.”
Ciaran wasn’t sure he liked that. “And?”
Kellan let out a long breath. “They’re concerned, naturally. Very concerned.”
“About us?” Sawyer asked.
“No,” Kellan replied. “They extended their congratulations in that regard. But they think our worries are not unfounded. When I told them Sawyer called her by name...”
Ciaran glanced at Dylan before meeting Kellan’s gaze, and he knew... heknewwhat it meant.
Kellan clearly did, too, because he gave a tight smile, acting like everything was fine. “They’ll be here next week.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
Ciaran didn’t want that. He didn’t want any of this to be happening.
Sawyer took Ciaran’s hand. “Hey.”
“I hope you don’t think I overstepped—” Kellan tried.
“Not at all,” Ciaran said quickly. “I appreciate it. I know my attention has been...” He looked at Sawyer and smiled, squeezing their joined hands. “Elsewhere.”
But Sawyer didn’t smile back. “If you need to be somewhere... I can get up and get dressed...”
“No,” Ciaran said quietly, rubbing his thumb over Sawyer’s knuckles.
Ciaran could feel Sawyer’s anguish. “I don’t want to monopolise your time,” he said. “You’re their leader, and I respect that, so if you need to?—”
“He’s where he needs to be,” Kellan said, still standing at the door. He gave Sawyer a sad smile that he schooled when his gaze drifted to Ciaran.
Ciaran knew Kellan was right, but it still didn’t make him feel any less guilty.
Then it was Sawyer who squeezed Ciaran’s hand. “I can feel your turmoil.”
Ciaran tried to smile for him, tried to pretend he wasn’t torn between his consortium obligations and his hearts. “And I can feel yours.”
“Sawyer,” Kellan said. “May I ask you something?”
“Of course,” he replied.
“In the water, what did you see?”
Sawyer’s face changed as if he remembered his fondest memory. “It’s so beautiful. Like being in the stars.”
Ciaran’s gaze flickered to Kellan’s, the doctor’s concern matching his own. Even Dylan frowned.
