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Kylar spoke up. “Getting in might be a problem.”
Darien checked his watch.
Shit—it wasn’t even noon, and Tanya usually snuck them in right before close.
Darien told Kylar, “Text Roman. Tell him the bare minimum—make sure he meets us at Caliginous ASAP.”
74
The Boardwalk (Violet Zone)
YVESWICH, STATE OF KER
It was morning, and the air was brisk.
Shay stood beside Roman on the rocky coast, her stiff, cold-bitten fingers wrapped around the warmth of her hazelnut latte. Paxton was close by, skipping stones on the water. His puppy Familiar named Chance stood beside him on lanky legs, tail constantly wagging.
Out in the distance, barely a speck from here, was the Riptide’s island and the House of Blue. Shay was surprised no one had hunted her down yet and dragged her back there. Athene had eyes everywhere, no matter the color of the zone. It was only a matter of time before one of her cronies spotted her and pounced.
“You ever going to tell me what happened?” Roman’s quiet, gravelly voice sliced into her brooding.
She sipped on her latte, the velvety coffee warming her belly. “I told you: When you’re ready to talk about what happened with Don, I’ll talk about what happened with Athene.” She kept her voice down for Paxton’s benefit. He was a really sweet kid. It was hard to accept that he was a Slade; he was too good for such a soiled last name. Too good for someone like Don.
Roman said, “I went to the House of Black to find Paxton, and he wasn’t there. So I left.” He sipped on his own coffee. “Your turn.”
She snickered, and then sighed. “Athene refuses to acknowledge that Anna is gone. She said some things that made me angry, so I left.” If Roman was going to water down his story, she’d water down hers. But she found, now that she was opening up to him, that she wanted to tell him more—to get the worst part about that night off her chest. “Three Selkies confronted me on the beach,” she confessed, her voice a hollow whisper, “and I accidentally gave them a little light show.”
Roman froze mid-sip of his latte—half-sweet. “They know?” A muscle twitched in his sharp jaw—it was probably the first time she’d seen that tic without being the cause of it.
“If they didn’t figure it out last night, I’m sure they have by now.” She stared out at the island—her prison. “And they’ll tell my mom. No doubt about that.” Her fingers tightened around the cup.
“Flick your wrist more!” Roman called to Paxton. A gentle breeze swept down the beach, and Shay watched as it played in the soft waves of Roman’s dark hair. She envied it—the breeze. Roman might have got his fill of touching her in the motel room, but Shay realized, aside from that one morning—when she’d had the pleasure of getting on her knees for Roman—she’d barely got to touch him.
Paxton demonstrated. “Like this?”
“Try it,” Roman said. He did, but the stone plunked into the water after only one skip. Roman shook his head. “Pathetic.”
Paxton scowled. “You try, then!”
Roman offered his cup to Shay. “Hold this?”
She took it, and he walked to Paxton’s side.
Shay couldn’t help but stare at Roman. She always stared at him, the urge to do so prompted by a deep-seated fear in her bones and blood—fear that every time she looked at him might be her last. He wore a black jacket and gray jeans that were ripped in the thighs—no surprise there—with fine chains attached to the pockets.
She couldn’t deny it any longer, and she didn’t want to.
She was absolutely obsessed with Roman. If she dared to admit it, she might even call it love.
But love was utterly terrifying. Roman had a lot of bad things to say about trust, but love was the real offender.
Love gave someone the power to break you. And now, if he felt so inclined, Roman could shatter her like a rock thrown at a house of glass. It would hurt, no doubt about that—but staying away from Roman would hurt even more.
How could one man have changed her so quickly?
“Watch and learn, little shit,” Roman said.
Shay smiled. With the two brothers standing side by side like that, it was easy to see the resemblance. By the time Paxton grew up, he’d look a lot like Roman.
