Wren is at a table near the far wall, jacket still on, the brace on her right arm visible below the cuff. She looks up when I cross to her and sit down across from her, and she doesn't sayyou should gobecause she knows I know.
We sit there for a moment.
"The Gilded Lily," she says.
"Yes."
"Interesting name for a safe house."
"It's a strip club."
"I noticed." She looks at the dark stage. "It smells like a place that has secrets."
"Every good place does."
She looks at me. In the emergency light, her face is quiet and direct — gray-blue eyes giving me their full attention.
"I don't know how to do this part," I say.
It’s not what I meant to say, but it’s what comes out.
"Which part?"
"Leaving." I look at the table. "I know how to manage exits. I don't know how to leave you."
She's quiet for a moment. The pencil turns once more.
"You've been practicing since the night at the Setai. Walking away." The corner of her mouth moves. "You're better at it than you think."
"I came back every time."
"I know." She sets the pencil down. Her hand turns palm up on the table. "That's how I know you'll come back this time."
I cover her hand with mine. Her fingers close around mine immediately, that same unhurried pressure.
"Pawlikowski knows to call me if anything moves," I say. "The back exit is faster than the main door — Juliet's side of the room, not the stage. If you hear anything outside and it doesn't sound like street traffic, you don't wait to identify it."
"I won't."
"You call Nico before you call me. He'll be mobile. I may not—"
"Logan." She squeezes my hand once. "I have the card. I know what to do." A beat. "Go do what you need to do. Then come back."
I look at her face for a long moment. The woman who answered four words into a void at 2am and flew toward a stranger and stayed. Who held my shaking hands in the dark and said nothing because there was nothing useful to say. Who leans toward me, always, when I let her.
I don't deserve this. I know I don't deserve this, but I'm going to keep it anyway.
My phone goes off before I've pushed back from the table.
Nico, calling this time. I hold up one finger to Wren and step toward the far wall.
"We're out of time." His voice has dropped low. "Movement confirmed, multiple vehicles. Get back here now."
"I'm leaving now."
"Logan." The word has nothing in it but urgency. "Now."
I end the call. Turn to find her.
