Page 181 of Wicked Brutal

Walter puts a hand on his shoulder. “Come on. I’ll explain while Cassandra has her existential crisis.”

“What’s existential?”

Tobias follows him toward Cassandra’s office, already asking questions.

Cassandra pauses beside me. “You good?”

I know what she’s actually asking. I glance at Ryan. He’s still holding the ultrasound picture.

“No.”

She nods. “Okay.”

No lecture. No telling me to forgive him. She just looks at Ryan. Whatever passes between them makes his jaw tighten. Then Cassandra follows Tobias and Walter.

And suddenly it’s just Ryan and me standing in the living room with the sound of Tobias enthusiastically explaining something to Cassandra down the hall.

Ryan looks at me. “Can we talk?”

I fold my arms. “We’ve been talking.”

“No. You’ve been texting me that I’m an asshole.”

“You are an asshole.”

His jaw tightens. “Can we go somewhere Tobias can’t hear us?”

That, unfortunately, is reasonable. “Fine.” I grab my bag. “Lead the way.”

The guest house door barely closes before Ryan says, “I’m sorry.”

I turn around. “No.”

His brows pull together. “No?”

“No. You don’t get to walk in here, say you’re sorry, and then we’re done.”

“I didn’t say we were done.”

“You keep acting like it.”

“How?”

“By trying to fix everything in one fucking sentence.”

His expression hardens. “I’m not trying to fix it in one sentence.”

“That’s what you do with everything.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“There.” I point at him. “That.”

“What?”

“You need a solution for everything. A plan. A fucking operation. A backup plan for the backup plan.”

“Yeah, Ally. That’s generally how you keep people alive.”