What good will it do?
First, you let Oliver’s betrayal go unpunished, and now London’s? What the hell are you doing?
London is in the shower when I get back to the room, and even though I’m tempted to join her, I don’t. Instead, I throw the French doors open and inhale the crisp night air. Underneath the pale light of the moon, I study the estate below and ponder my next move.
When London sees me, she crosses over to me and draws me in for a hug.
I stiffen, but I don’t pull away.
We curl up on the bed a short while later, and as I stroke her hair, I wonder how much time we have left before everything blows up in our faces.
And how much of us will be left when the dust settles.
Chapter Thirteen
London
“Absolutely not.”
“Mason, she has to—”
“I said no.”
I wince and feel like melting into the shadows. Instead, I hold my head high.
I will not back down. I can’t afford to, with my deadline looming over the horizon.
Olivia pushes herself off the desk. “Doctor Shepard already said he can’t treat her here, but he can see her in a facility outside the city.”
“Are you fucking deaf?” Mason turns to face Olivia, his eyes blazing and a vein bulging in his neck. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re on the precipice of war, Olivia. I can’t let you off the estate—either of you. It’s not safe.”
Olivia has to get through to him because I can’t imagine any other scenario where this ends well, and I’m terrified to open my mouth and give us away.
It’s been ten days, and this whole thing has been eating away at me.
I can’t take it anymore.
“Doctor Shepard has been the family doctor for years,” Olivia argues. “Katia is going to be with us.”
Mason glances over at me, and his eyes narrow. “She looks fine to me.”
Olivia steps into his field of vision, prompting him to look at her. “She isn’t, and there’s a chance she’s contagious, so unless you want to fight off whatever she has, stop being a stubborn ass and let us go.”
Mason ignores his sister, steps out from behind the desk, and strides over to me. “London.”
I force myself to meet his eyes. “Yes?”
Mason stops in front of me, and there’s some emotion in his eyes I can’t identify. “Why aren’t you telling me any of this yourself?”
I open my mouth, and I can barely hear anything over the thundering of my heart as I squeeze my eyes shut. Then I sway a little on my feet, and Mason throws out a hand to catch me. I lean into his familiar embrace and feel him lead me to the couch. I open one eye. Mason has his arm draped around me, and he’s holding a glass of water to my lips.
“I should go with you.”
“It’s not safe,” I say. “We’ll draw too much attention.”
“Katia will be with us the whole time,” Olivia adds from her corner in the room. “You can send other people too if it’ll make you feel better, but we won’t need that many people.”
I shoot Olivia a look, but she ignores me.
