Kauss does not look away from me.
My laugh comes out broken. “Of course you do.”
“Evie—”
“No. Go. Your war is calling.”
“It is not my war.”
“You’re wearing the suit.”
He has no answer.
Or maybe he has too many and none that can help.
I step backward into the rain. “Don’t come to the bakery tonight.”
“Evie.”
“I mean it.”
His face twists. “You are not safe.”
“I am never safe when everyone keeps deciding for me.”
The words strike him exactly where I aim them.
Then I turn and walk away before he can see me fully break.
I hear him take one step after me.
Then Arturo says something low and urgent.
Kauss stops.
That stop destroys me more than if he had never moved.
I keep walking through the rain until downtown blurs, until Halo’s battered streets rise around me again, until the smell of saltwater, fryer grease, wet pavement, and old neon replaces expensive flowers and polished wood. By the time Sweet Tooth appears through the storm, my face is soaked enough that no one can tell how much is rain.
Darlene is at the door waiting.
She sees me alone.
Her expression changes.
“Where is he?” she asks.
“With them.”
“With who?”
“Lenrog’s people.” My voice sounds hollow. “Lenrog’s dead. Ron killed him, I think. Or had him killed. I don’t know.”
Darlene curses softly.
“He told me he loves me.”
Her eyes sharpen. “And?”
