"Don’t start," I said under my breath.
"She came through today," he said. "Helped us when she didn’t have to."
"She didn’t want to die," I muttered.
"Maybe. But you can’t deny it, any more than I can."
I finally turned to him, my voice flat. "Deny what?"
"The pull."
My jaw tightened. "You’re imagining things."
“Am I?” Phoenix shot back. “You don’t think I’ve noticed the way you watch her? Just like Leo does. Even Slade.”
I froze. The heat in my chest flared up, and I turned toward him fully, my voice sharp. “Phoenix-”
“You want her,” he pressed, his voice low but insistent. “You wouldn’t be such an asshole towards her if you didn’t. Just admit it.”
I felt my anger rise, the sharp edge of it cutting through the tension between us. “Why should I?”
“Because if we don’t win her trust — and fast — Vasquez is going to take her away from us.”
I scoffed, dismissing his concern. “He won’t break her. That girl’s made of fire and steel.”
Phoenix’s eyes darkened. “All steel melts under the right pressure.”
A cold shiver ran down my spine at his words. My hands clenched into fists again, and I could feel the tension in the air thickening, unbearable.
“Why don’t you be a bit more honest with yourself?” I snapped, the words coming out harsher than I intended. “You want her too.”
Phoenix chuckled, low and dark. “I’m not going to deny I find her… intriguing.”
“Intriguing. Right.” I bit the words out, unable to keep the edge of sarcasm out of my tone.
“She is very beautiful,” Phoenix said, his voice surprisingly sincere.
“If you like skinny street rats with an attitude problem,” I muttered under my breath.
Phoenix laughed out loud, the sound breaking the heavy silence between us. “Listen to you.”
I glared at him, irritation still simmering beneath my skin. But as the laughter died down, the tension didn’t fade. It hung between us, thick and heavy, like a storm waiting to break.
“I know you like her,” Phoenix pressed again. “Leo’s already halfway gone. She’s got him wrapped around her little finger. It won’t take long for Slade to follow.”
I didn’t answer immediately. Of course I’d seen it—the way Leo’s eyes softened when he looked at her, the way he’d laughed when she’d made a joke. He was already head over heels for the girl. And I hated how much I understood it.
But I didn’t want to admit it. Not to Phoenix. Not to anyone.
“Even so,” I muttered, “we’re never going to convince her to join the Shades willingly. She cares too much about that miserable little town. About those people.”
“Then what?” Phoenix growled. “We just hand her over to Vasquez? Let him gut her soul and brand what’s left?”
My fists clenched. “No. But forcing her isn’t the answer either.”
“Then what is?”
I didn’t have one. Not yet. And that terrified me.
