Page 55 of Bound By the Sleeper’s Harp

There was a pause and then, “Everything okay? I’m kind of freaking out over here.”

“You, freaking out?”

“Rose,” he growled.

“Fine. I assume you saw the security feed?” I knew he kept cameras around the exterior of the club.

“Yeah, and heard about your apartment. Wanna explain what’s going on?”

“Not at the moment, no.” I had initially planned to tell him about Luke. To see if there was anything he could do. Now that I had Bastian… I was less inclined. “Look, I need a few days off to sort things out. Then I’ll tell you what I can.”

“Fine. Not a problem. Take whatever time you need. If anyone knows about dealing with personal shit—well, whatever. Take what you need. Just don’t start avoiding my calls. You go silent, I get worried.”

My chest warmed at his concern.

“Speaking of,” I said, “did you ever get ahold of Micky?” There was a long silence. I glanced down at my phone but we weren’t disconnected. “Eaden? You there?”

He sighed. “Yes. I got her.”

“She’s…okay?” Relief unspooled in my chest.

“Not so sure, actually. Probably shouldn’t talk about it, especially on the phone. Some weird shit’s been going down in Walton. You saw the news this morning?”

“Yes?” I frowned. What did Micky have to do with the mayor’s gala?

“Right. Then you know that there’s some strange stuff going on.”

I hesitated. “Eaden, have…have any of your people been acting strange? Like, falling asleep and not waking up?” Another long silence. “Eaden?”

“Come to the club, Rose,” he said at last. “Let’s talk there, not on the phone.”

My heart thudded. “Then you ha⁠—?”

“Rose! Enough. Come to the club if you want to talk about this shit.”

My mouth dropped open. I pulled my phone away, glancing at it, then put it back to my ear. He was right. Something like this should only be discussed in person.

“I… I can stop by tonight, if that’s okay? I can’t work though.”

“Fine,” he said after a long hesitation. “Come by and we’ll talk. Until then, take care of your shit and do what you need to do.”

“Thank—”

The line went dead. I huffed.

“What did he say?”

I yelped, whirling around.

“Bastian?!” I hissed. He stood in my doorway, leaning against the door frame. “What the actual fuck? You can’t just…”

“It’s my house, sugar. I can. With just about anything I want around here. What did he say?”

“He wants me to come by the club tonight—to talk. I think something might have happened with some of his people, too.”

His jaw flexed, then he nodded. “Probably a good thing. I was hoping to talk to him anyway.”

“You… You want to come with me?”