“He said—” Her voice breaks. “He said they’ll come for you too. All of you. If I say anything.”
I’m going to kill him.
I’m going to find Silas and I’m going to wrap my hands around his throat and I’m going to—
“Rane.”
Nova’s looking at me. Eyes wide. Scared.
Not of Silas. Of me. Of what I might do.
I take a breath. Force my hands to unclench.
“Okay.” My voice is steadier than I feel. “Okay. Thank you for telling me.”
“You can’t—”
“I won’t do anything stupid.” I reach for her hand. She lets me take it. “But I’m not going to pretend I didn’t hear it. And I’m not going to let you carry this alone.”
She doesn’t say anything. Just squeezes my hand.
We walk the rest of the way in silence.
But my mind is racing. Planning. Figuring out how to tell the others without making her feel like she betrayed a secret.
She trusts us. She trustedme.
I’m not going to let that be a mistake.
He threatened her. He threatened all of us.
And he thinks we’re going to stay quiet?
He has no idea who he’s dealing with.
She trusted me. That means something.
So when they come, we’ll be ready.
Because no one touches what’s ours.
Chapter 33
Nova
The house comes into view and I’m not ready for the night to end.
Rane slows as we reach the front steps. Stops at the bottom. He turns to face me with something almost shy in his expression, which is ridiculous because this isRane—he’s never shy about anything.
“So,” he says. “If this were a normal date—”
“Was it not?”
“If this were a normal date where I picked you up at your place and took you out…” He gestures at the door behind him. “This would be the part where I drop you off. Walk you to your door. Linger awkwardly on the porch.”
I bite my lip to keep from smiling. “Awkwardly?”
“Very awkwardly.” He takes a step closer. “And this would be the part where I try to figure out if I can kiss you.”
