Page 257 of What We Burn

“No.” His thumbs press into my collarbones, grounding me. “But she saved your life. She survived the night. And when she felt like she couldn’t do it anymore, she reached out to you.”

“I did manage to get her to eat a little.”

“See? You’re already helping.”

“What if that’s not enough?”

“Then we come back tomorrow. And the day after that. We keep showing up until it is.”

I lean into him. His arms come around me and I press my face into his chest and breathe. He smells like coffee and laundry detergent.

“I hate this,” I say against his shirt.

“I know.”

“She didn’t deserve this.”

“No.”

“None of us did.”

His phone rings between us.

Eli’s arms loosen. He pulls it from his pocket, checks the screen, and immediately goes still.

“Odin.”

He answers. “Yeah.”

I stay where I am while he listens. He doesn’t interrupt. Doesn’t argue. He just goes very still, the way he does when he’s holding something down.

“Understood,” he says eventually. “I’ll tell them.”

He hangs up.

“What happened?”

“Odin’s been called out of town on emergency business.”

“Because of last night?”

“At least partly. What Milo and Knox did has created problems beyond our team.” He rubs a hand over his jaw. “Odin said—and I’m quoting—‘Quite frankly, I don’t want to see any of you right now.’”

“Fair.”

“The Hangmen are officially on leave until he gets back. No targets. No meetings. None of us touches the Kennel. No freelancing and no excuses.”

“What about me?”

“You’re not contracted, so he can’t put you on leave.” His mouth tightens. “But he ordered you to stand down with us.”

“For how long?”

“He didn’t say. Fenrir has the devices and everything Knox collected. He’s the only person authorized to touch any of it.”

“Milo’s going to hate that.”

“I know.”