"Well, think faster."
My knee begins to bounce, and how could I possibly be this cold in a room filled with this much steam?
"This could have so many different implications, Aurora." His tone is cautious, and I hate it. And now I know what I really wanted when I decided to try to tell him first.
I didn't only want objective honesty. I wanted brutality. I wanted him to yell and scream and threaten.
Why isn't he yelling?
"It could be a setup, somehow. I can think of several reasons he might have constructed a false positive test and none of them are good for us, and then there's the possibility that?—"
"No, you aren't listening." I'm shouting now, but I can't help it. My next swallow is like razor blades in my throat. "Heismy father. It wasn't just the fucking lunch a few days ago. I've known—well, notknown, but I've suspected since the first time I met him."
"Aurora, slow down, it's all?—"
"No," I snap, and then manage to take a breath to calm myself down enough to get out the rest of the truth. "Herecognized my necklace, Atticus. It slipped out of my shirt, and I saw it in his eyes right away."
My voice cracks and I pinch the charm on the white gold necklace between my fingers. "He knew this necklace. He'd seen it before. That sort of thing can't be faked. What I saw on his face—it was real. And this was my mom's. This and that note were the only things she left with me at that fire station, and heknewthis necklace."
When he's quiet for too long again, I want to scream, but I force myself to wait while he thinks.
"Céline knows, doesn't she?"
"Does that matter?"
"No, I—I noticed something was off when we were doing the debrief, and then there's been some tension between you and Céline since she got here earlier today. It all makes sense now. What I don't get is how you felt like you could tell her, but not us."
"Doesn't it change things?"
"Does it?" His question is an accusation, and now we're getting somewhere.
Yes, I think.Get angry.A lump forms in my throat, and I can't speak.
"Aurora, I need you to tell me right now if this changes anything for you."
"I…I…"
When his hand comes down on my bare thigh, I flinch, readying for the worst, but his touch is only firm and gentle. "I'm sorry, that's not what I should be focusing on.Fuck, I'm so shit at this. Let me…let me go get Sev and Eli. They'll?—"
I grab his arm before his hand can slide from my leg. "No."
The steam shimmers and shifts as he crouches in front of me, close enough that I can make out the rough shape of him in the dark. The mess of his hair, undone and damp around his face.
"They don't know…" He trails off, like he's realized something. "Aurora, why did you tell me this?"
I hear what he doesn't say.
Why me, and not them?
He won't like the answer. I don't even like it and I'm beyond explaining it.
Atticus lets out a long, shuddering sigh when I can't find the words.
"Let me try this again. I understand if this changes things for you. If you can't help us?—"
"It's not that." I shake my head, and breathe in more steam. "Being related to him doesn't change what he did to the Ashfords. To you and Seven andElijah. He's a monster, and he deserves what's coming."
I can almost picture Atticus's face looking up at me. The knot between his brows. The tension in his jaw. I can sense his confusion without needing to see him at all.
