“No,” Vaughn says. “It was true.”
“It was bitchy.”
“I won’t deny it,” he says truthfully.
“I don’t mean that y’all don’t matter. You do. All of you do. I just…” My voice trails off when my throat tightens. “I need him back.”
“I know,” Vaughn says softly.
“You don’t, though. None of you do. I can feel him. I can feel everything they do to him. Every moment I sit here eating and chatting and being watched like a suicidal toddler, they are hurting him.”
“To be fair,” Laurent says. “You do have concerning toddler energy.”
I glare at him, and he grimaces. “Not the time. Sorry.”
“No, it is the time,” I say. “If we stop joking, I’ll start screaming. If that happens, I might not stop.”
Diego walks over and sets a glass of juice next to my hand. Where the fuck did he even get that? “Then we keep joking,” he says gently.
“Fine,” Vaughn says with a heavy sigh. “But your plan is shit.”
“Thanks for your support,” I deadpan.
“It’s suicidal, Talia.”
“Most meaningful things are.”
“Jesus, Talia. That’s not the inspirational statement you think it is.”
“She’s right,” Dad says.
“Don’t encourage her,” Caine growls.
“I’m not,” Dad counters. “I’m telling you what I already know. Henry won’t give Soren up because you threaten him. He won’t be traded fairly. He won’t negotiate honestly. The only way through him is through the thing he thinks he already owns.”
Me. It doesn’t need to be said, because we all know. Vaughn tightens his hands into fists. “Fuck that,” he growls.
“I agree,” Dad says, leaning back in his chair. “But Henry taught her to survive him. That means she knows how to lie to him better than any of us.”
“Well, that’s fantastic,” I mutter. “My trauma finally has a career path.”
Diego points at me. “See? Funny. Concerning, but funny.”
I pick up my juice and take a sip as Laurent leans his elbow on the counter. “So what do you need from us?” he asks.
That question nearly undoes me. It’s not ‘how do we stop you?’ Not ‘What would Soren want?’ Not ‘Are you sure?’ Just… ‘How can we help?’
“I need you to trust me,” I say.
“That’s a big ask, Talia,” Vaughn says, finally softening.
“I know.”
“When Soren gets back and finds out we let you go, he is going to rip our spines out and use them as fucking jump ropes,” he says.
“Well, that’s graphic.” I laugh.
“It’s accurate,” Vaughn says. “He will be so fucking mad.”
