"He seems to take his duties insanely seriously," Salt murmurs. "I think you’re right, there’s something going on."
"It’s ridiculous. He could have shaken hands with Anzo once—over their shared hatred of Blue Lowen and Malden Pharmaceuticals, and now he’s suddenly his dedicated bodyguard? That’s pure comedy."
"Weird things keep happening. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that he’ll stand up for us," Salt mutters.
We end up waiting in the hallway for a good hour and a half. As we sit with our backs leaning against the wall, I wrap an arm around Salt, and he rests his head on my shoulder.
A mix of emotions fills me, many of them intense, but the strongest by far is the need to take care of Salt and of our baby. As a young alpha, I never felt anything like this, my instincts were dormant, but now they’re waking up in me, making my focus fall on this one goal: keeping my new family safe.
At one point I kiss his temple, and Salt’s gray eyes lift to meet mine. In his gaze there’s an entire ocean of emotions I want to untangle, explore, understand.
Soon we’ll have the chance. I need to believe that.
I smile, lean down, and plant another wet kiss on his cheek. He makes a quick move of his head, turning it slightly, and it makes our lips brush against each other.
He gives me a slightly crooked smile.
Then we just sit and wait patiently. Apparently Mr. Blue Lowen has a lot to discuss with Mr. Gomez, because I assume that’s who the meeting is with.
At some point the door opens and a beta who works as Mr. Gomez’s secretary steps out.
Then Gabriel goes inside and closes the door behind him.
"Well, now our fate is being decided," I mutter under my breath.
Salt squeezes my hand lightly.
"No matter what happens, I still appreciate that you tried to fight for this."
We sit like that for a moment, both lost in our thoughts.
I notice Salt watching his forearm, where the wordsJustice for Senuare written.
He gently runs a finger over the skin above the name ‘Senu’.
Without lifting his head, almost with a hint of embarrassment, he blurts out,
"I simply… I’d like to see Senu. Just once. I miss him so much."
"And you will. I will arrange it no matter what," I say firmly.
Salt lets out a huff. "It drives me crazy, Eliano! If I hadn’t killed those people, I wouldn’t be in prison. My fucking lack of impulse control! I could be by his side right now, and instead I feel like that chapter of my life, when I lived with my brother, is over forever…"
Well, it’s true, if he hadn’t killed those people, he would be free, but on the other hand, would everything else have played out the same way?
Would Senu even be free now?
Salt presses his hands to his temples and tugs at his hair, but I stop his hand mid-motion and pull it away from his face.
"Salt, don’t torture yourself over this. You can’t change the past. What matters most is that he’s safe and happy, and I’ll try to figure out how your brother can still be a part of your life."
"Thank you," Salt says, but there’s a hint of anguish in his tone. "I believe it when you say it. But I’m afraid this really is theendof a certain chapter anyway. He and I were always together. Always! We rented one room, sometimes we even slept in the same bed, cuddling and talking for hours." He wags a finger at me lightly when he sees my eyebrows go up. "We were just inseparable, like twins. What happened cut our… umbilical cord. It hurts."
I watch him for a moment. Salt rarely talked about Senu. I think he carried it inside him like a wound he never allowed to heal. His natural griefneverreally happened. He focused on the goal of killing Tanner, drowning out everything else, including the pain, and that was what kept him going. Now the situation has changed, but the wound of being separated from Senu still has no chance to heal. There isn’t much that could comfort him, but I try anyway:
"I understand that you see this as a loss, but Senu has someone who can love him in a different way than you can and who can give him things a brother can’t. That doesn’t mean you’ll be erased from his life…"
Suddenly the door opens and Gabriel steps out. My heart speeds up as he raises a hand and makes a beckoning gesture in our direction.
