Page 170 of Only Be Mine

Then I added, slower and deliberate, “But I don’t feel… free to talk.”

Trevor went still.

Seth’s head lifted, sharp.

On the phone, Marshal didn’t react outwardly, but I heard the shift in his silence. Like a door opening.

“Thank you,” Marshal said softly. “That’s all I needed.”

Trevor’s face turned toward me in a way that was still gentle, still controlled, but no longer warm.

“Cate,” he said, voice quiet enough to pass for calm, “hang up.”

I didn’t.

My heart hammered in my throat, but I kept the phone clutched tightly in hand like it was a lifeline.

Marshal continued, voice steady. “Ms. Larkin, Cate, listen to me. If you can, I need you to leave the house. Now. Go somewhere public. A neighbor. A coffee shop. Anywhere you can be seen.”

Trevor’s jaw ticked.

He smiled then. A real smile would’ve reached his eyes.

This one didn’t.

“Detective,” he said smoothly, “you’re being inappropriate.”

Marshal didn’t take the bait.

“Cate,” he said again, firm now. “Do you understand me?”

My mouth went dry.

I looked at Seth.

He was already shifting forward, subtle, ready. Not to fight Trevor, but to get me out.

Trevor watched the exchange like he was reading a script he didn’t like.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he said, his voice full of quiet certainty. Like the statement alone should make it true.

My skin went cold.

He wasn’t saying it to threaten me, he was saying it because he believed it.

Because this house, this life, this version of me, had been arranged too carefully to allow a disruption.

And that’s exactly what this was.

Marshal’s voice cut through again. “Cate.”

I swallowed hard and forced my voice to work.

“I understand,” I whispered.

Trevor’s gaze sharpened.

“What did you just say?” he asked.