Page 136 of Eternal Obsession

Despite every tortured reason clawing at my mind, I leaned in, drawn not by logic, but by the gravity of her. My lips brushed hers, certain, and in that fleeting collision, the world dissolved.

“We can’t,” she whispered it against my lips.

Even now I wanted to protect her, even from me. “Would you rather I leave?”

“Where is he?” she asked.

“How are you, Ingrid?”

“Alex. I need to ask him a few more questions.”

“It’s good to see you.”

She glared at me with a fierce undoing.

I sensed her wariness. “Perhaps a cup of tea?”

“Perhaps, or perhaps you wouldn’t actually drink it.”

Her remark made me even more nervous. “I have the time. If you do⁠—”

“Why are you here?”

I sighed. “To see you, to check up on how you are⁠—”

“Check on the case, perhaps?” Her tone was accusing.

“I left you in the castle. I had to dash off.”

“You believed your brother was dead. What’s going on?”

“You misunderstood me,” I said.

“No, I didn’t. Where is Orpheus?”

“He is of no importance.”

“Is Alex hiding with him?”

I stared at her, trying to figure out how much she knew.

“What was Alex planning on doing with that blood?” she asked.

“Blood?”

“Who are you? What are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re part of a cult, aren’t you?”

I smiled. “Come on, Ingrid, be real.”

“Deny it!” she shouted.

“I just did.”

“I don’t believe you.”