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“Why?” she presses.

“An order was carried out that day. There are people who might blame me for what followed.”

“What order?”

I look toward the door. I could tell her to wait for Drew’s investigation. I could give her a careful account of old rivalries and leave myself out of it. She would hear the missing part, as she always does.

“I’m not ready to explain that.”

Cassie lets out a breath and looks away. “You’ve given me a few pieces and asked me to live with whatever I imagine in the gaps.”

“I know what those gaps can do.”

“Do you?” She hugs herself, then winces as the movement pulls at the dressing on her arm. “I spent today looking for my brother, and then I almost died in your stable. I need to understand the danger we’re in.”

She drags her fingers through her hair, then points at me, her hand trembling with anger.

“You say knowing more could put me in danger, but ignorance hasn’t protected me yet. It didn’t protect Connor, either.”

I have no answer for that. Connor hid his evidence in books his sister would recognize, perhaps because he thought he could work alone long enough to spare her. Cassie has spent days following what he left behind while fearing for his life. I’ve watched what his silence has done to her, yet I’ve asked her to trust my own.

“I told you I would keep you safe.” My voice rises despite my effort to control it, and I turn away from her, furious with myself for dragging her deeper into this mess.

“You can’t promise that. You didn’t even know there was going to be a fire.”

“I can promise what I’ll do when there’s a threat.”

“And I can decide what I’m willing to face.” She plants her feet, even though putting weight on her injured ankle makes her flinch. “You don’t get to make that decision for both of us.”

A knock comes at the door, and I step away from Cassie to answer it. Sofia stands outside with Murphy’s carrier in one hand and a bag of his bowls and food in the other. Birdie watches Cassie over my shoulder.

Sofia lifts the bag slightly. “He’s ready to get out.”

I nod once.

“Reid will take me back to the guesthouse,” Birdie says. “Are you okay up here?”

Cassie glances at me before answering. “I will be. Thanks for bringing Murphy.”

Murphy announces his displeasure at being carried. I take the carrier from Sofia, thank them both, and close the door after they leave. Cassie opens it in the bathroom, where his bowls will fit against the wall. He walks out, sniffs the unfamiliar carpet, and disappears beneath the bed.

“He’ll come out when he’s finished judging it,” she states.

I almost smile. Cassie looks at me and doesn’t return it. The brief exchange gives us a breath, but she’s still waiting.

“I left that world ten years ago,” I tell her. “The man in charge had a son. I saved his life, and afterward his father agreed to release me from my obligations. I came home to the vineyard.”

“Just like that?” Cassie braces a hand against the back of the chair, her injured ankle keeping her from pacing.

“There was nothing easy about arranging it.” I press my thumb into the scar on my left hand, remembering how long I waited for the agreement to fail. “I had people watching my parents for months before I trusted that it would hold.”

“Did your parents know?” She adjusts her weight off the injured foot but keeps her attention on me.

“No. They believed I was working at an importer in Seattle.” I turn the edge of my mother’s blanket between my fingers. “My mother asked about my position whenever I came home. I could tell she thought something was wrong, but she never knew what I was doing.”

Cassie focuses on my fingers turning the edge of the blanket. “You still regret that.”

“Yes.”