Page 78 of Tempest’s Torment

"No," Rogue agrees.

"He was watching Webb."

Rogue nods. "Looks that way."

I don't take my eyes off the screen, the height, the build, the way he stands. I'd know it anywhere. I don't say his name, because I don't need to.

Ghost reaches the same conclusion a second later. "He never trusted Webb."

Savage folds his arms. "He was checking the work."

"Or checking Lilah for himself," I say.

The timestamp catches my eye: Three weeks ago. Three weeks ago, she sat in that park thinking she was just eating her lunch, but she wasn't alone, she just didn't know it.

I hear Lilah and Natalia before I even get the door closed, their voices carrying from the kitchen.

Natalia looks up first. "There he is."

Lilah turns at the sound of her voice and smiles, something in my chest settles as I lay eyes on her.

Sniper recognizes it before I have to say a word; he pushes away from the wall he'd been leaning against and looks at Natalia. "We're done here."

Natalia follows his gaze, then looks between Lilah and me, a knowing smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "I think that's our cue."

"You don't have to leave," Lilah says.

Natalia laughs softly. "We really do." She squeezes Lilah's shoulder as she walks past. "I'll see you soon."

Jinx is already by the door, holding it open for them, and Sniper pauses beside me. "Quiet morning."

"Good."

Sniper gives me a nod. "See you at church."

"Yeah."

The three of them head out together and the apartment falls quiet again. Lilah waits until the door clicks shut before looking back at me. "How bad is it?"

I drop onto the chair opposite her. "Bad enough."

She nods. "I figured."

I tell her as much as I can, but not everything, just enough to understand what we’re dealing with. She doesn't interrupt once, and when I’m finished, she wraps both hands around her mug. "So he wasn't just following me."

"No."

She looks out of the window. "I hate that he's still making me think about Connecticut." I don't answer, because she isn't asking me to fix it; I doubt there’s even a way to do so. "I hate that he gets to do that."

"He doesn't," I tell her and she looks back at me. "He gets your attention, right now, not forever."

There’s a lull of silence, and I let her work out everything in her own head. "I missed you." The words catch me completely off guard, and she looks surprised she'd said them too. "I mean..." She laughs awkwardly. "You were only gone an hour."

A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. "I like that."

She frowns. "You do?"

I nod. "Means you really missed me."