I snort. “I don’t think a scratch on my hand is going to scar your goddaughter for life.”
His gaze trails from my hand up to my neck. Whatever he sees there—whatever Asher left—makes something shift in his expression. It’s not jealousy exactly. More like a flare of emotion he tucks away before I can name it.
He slides off the counter, stepping closer. Too close. The kitchen table presses into the backs of my thighs as he hems me in without actually touching anything scandalous.
“Still,” he murmurs, voice dropping. “I could help.”
“You say that like you have medical training,” I say.
“Maybe I just like the idea of my hands on you after his,” he says, so quietly only I can hear.
My breath catches.
His palm lands on the table beside my hip, fingers splayed. His other hand mirrors it on my other side, caging me in without actually touching me. He leans forward slowly, the warmth of his body a breath away from mine, his mouth near my ear.
“You look different,” he murmurs. “Lighter. Less like you’re about to bolt every second. It looks good on you.”
“That’s because I just did sprints on a stair machine,” I say, but my voice is softer than I intended.
He huffs a quiet laugh, breath ghosting over my skin. “Sure. Let’s go with that.”
I feel his presence more than anything—the press of him without contact, the way his words slide under my skin, the knowledge that his eyes have seen every version of me and still choose to stay.
“Zay,” I warn.
“I’m not going to do anything you don’t want,” he says. “Just… letting you know I see you.”
It’s almost worse than a line. Because it’s true. Because it’s gentle.
Footsteps pound on the stairs.
Fast. Heavy.
The mood shatters.
Asher appears in the doorway, eyes wide, breathing hard. His usual iron control is gone; panic has cracked straight through it.
“Talia is gone,” he says.
The words land like a physical blow.
I straighten, Zay pulling back a step, the three of us snapping into the same tight focus.
“What do you mean gone?” I ask, my voice too loud, too sharp.
His chest rises and falls in harsh pulls. “Her room is empty. Bed made. Clothes gone. Phone gone. Window cracked. She’s not in the bathroom, not in the yard, not anywhere. I’ve checked every room twice.”
Zay swears under his breath, the sound ugly and raw. “Did anyone see her leave? Cameras?”
“As of last night, all outdoor cameras were clear,” Asher says. His hands are fists at his sides now, knuckles white. “No alerts. No motion. It’s like she just… vanished.”
Ice rushes through my veins. My mind flashes back to the phone call through her door, the way her voice trembled when she saidKill. The way I sprinted down the stairs rather than let her catch me listening.
“What if…” My throat tightens. “What if the Vipers took her? Grabbed her between feeds? Or on a run none of us clocked?”
The possibility hangs in the air like a guillotine.
“Or,” Zay says, eyes darkening, “what if she walked to them?”
