“You and I need to have a talk,” I tell her before she breezes past me, pretending she didn’t hear. “Aurora, quit this childish bullshit. This is important.”
“There you go, judging what matters. Deciding what’s important and what isn’t.” The first words she’s said to me in days. “What must it feel like, getting high off your own greatness all the time?”
“There is something extremely important we need to discuss.”
“I don’t really care what you think is important. You thought this was, didn’t you?” She points to the spot where the tracker was inserted. “I think it’s safe to say we don’t agree on what is and isn’t important.”
I need to find a way to earn her trust back. Not because I have a mission or a goal. Not because I’m worried she’ll run again. I have selfish motives this time. I need her to stop looking at me like I’m the enemy. Some monster who is worthy of nothing but her disdain. When I wasn’t paying attention, I started to care too much about what she thinks and how she feels.
“There’s something I’ve been keeping from you, and I think you deserve to know it.”
Her furious hair-brushing slows, though she doesn’t say a word.
“It might come as a real shock. I think you should sit down.”
“I’m fine where I am.”
She can have it her own way. “Somehow, your father found a way to survive the fire. He’s still alive, Aurora.”
She sways on her feet, and my hands flex, wanting to reach for her, to grab and hold. “How do you know that?” she mutters, staring at her own reflection while leaning against the dresser. I don’t think she sees herself. Her eyes are unfocused, her voice barely a whisper.
“Suffice to say we know for sure. The body found in the house was not his. We’re trying to find him,” I explain. Does she hear me? Or is she lost in the past, remembering every ounce of his cruelty?
“How long have you known?” she whispers. There’s a haunted sound to her voice. Finally, she looks at me, turning around to give me her full attention.
“A while.” Her head tips to the side. “Since before the funeral.”
She sighs deeply, and the sound is filled with disappointment. “I see. So there you were, bending over backward to rub it in that you killed him, and you knew he was alive. He outsmarted you somehow.”
“Do us both a favor,” I mutter before she can go any further. “Don’t act like you think this is a good thing. I know better than that.”
She looks away with a soft groan because she knows I’m right. “Thank you for telling me, I guess. I’m still not sure why you chose to now.”
“We’re on the same side. Don’t you get that?” She scoffs, giving me no choice but to double down. “We are a team. We have to act like it.”
“Exactly what do I get out of us being part of a team? Actually, let me rewind.” Again, she bends an arm over her shoulder, jerking a thumb at the general area where the trackerwas planted. “This is how you treat your team? Do you drug them? Plant a tracker in them?”
“All right. Let’s not pretend you didn’t earn that.”
“I wanted my freedom! I did what any sane person would do: fought the people who were holding me against my will and ran away.”
“And how much fun was that for you?” Let her scoff and roll her eyes and slam her hairbrush on the dresser all she wants. She knows I’m right. “If I don’t trust you yet, that’s on you. This is the consequence of your actions coming back to bite you in the ass. But if you meet me halfway, I’ll give you a little more freedom.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“How exactly?”
“Lose the attitude,” I warn, “or you won’t get shit. I am trying here. Meet me halfway.”
After blowing out a deep breath, she asks, “What did you have in mind?” Her voice is softer, though there’s still an edge to it. I’ll be damned if I don’t almost admire her for it. She won’t give up.
“Come with me.” I don’t bother waiting or checking over my shoulder to see if she’ll follow. She will. Curiosity won’t let her do anything else.
Sure enough, I’m at my desk, opening the bottom drawer, when she joins me. “Well? What do you have in mind?” she asks, belting her robe tighter.
She has no idea how tempted I am to throw her over this desk and fuck the sass out of her. It’s a temptation I can barely resist. “I have a gift for you.” With that, I present the brand-new laptop I put together for her. Setting it on the desk, I explain, “Whatever you want to do with it, it will have the power. If you’re into gaming or would like to explore it, there’s a two-terabyte harddrive and a video card that would put just about any other model to shame. But I thought you might like to use it for school.”
