Page 36 of Prey

"Rose," I say quietly. "If you touch him, I will destroy you."

"You can try."

"It's not a threat. It's a promise."

She laughs. Not a pleasant sound. "You think he's safe because you're there? You think he's innocent?"

"I don't care if he's innocent."

"You should. You should ask him what happened the last time someone found out what he really is. Ask him why his mother left."

The words hit like a knife. I don't respond.

"Think about it, Cain. You have forty-eight hours. Then I go public with everything."

She hangs up.

I stare at the phone for a long moment. My hands are steady and my mind is clear, but inside, something is burning. Grey's past. The sealed juvenile record. The mother who walked away. I always knew it was there, but I didn't dig. I told myself I didn't care. But now Rose is using it like a weapon.

And Grey is alone in that apartment, packing his things, waiting for me to tell him it's safe. I dial his number. He answers on the first ring. "Cain?"

His voice is shaky. Nervous. He's been waiting for me to call. Has he been sitting by the phone this whole time?

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm at my apartment. Packing."

"Good." I pause. "Listen. I need to tell you something. About Rose."

"What about her?"

"She accessed the surveillance system. She's been watching us for months. She has footage. She has everything."

A long silence. Then, softly: "Everything?"

"Everything."

Another silence. Then: "What do we do?"

I close my eyes. What do we do? What do we do when someone knows everything? What do we do when someone is determined to destroy us?

I should stay here. I should find out exactly what she has before I move. That's what the strategic Cain would do. The one who built an empire by being patient, by waiting for his moment, by never letting emotion make decisions for him.

But Grey is in that apartment, and he has been scared his whole life of being found out, of being left, of being too much for anyone to want. I can't be patient.

"I'm coming to get you," I say.

"What? No. You have meetings."

"Fuck the meetings. I'm coming to get you."

"Cain."

"Don't leave the apartment. Don't open the door for anyone. Wait for me."

I hang up before he can argue and walk out of my office. Rose's office is at the end of the hall. I stop at her door. She's inside. Standing by the window. Phone in her hand. She turns when she sees me.

"Going somewhere, Cain?"