Page 154 of Aviatrix

“I’ll find out,” I promise.

Silence stretches between us. I don’t know what else to say. Maybe there’s nothing I should say. He’s angry. Frustrated. Scared. And he has every right to be.

I was the one who vouched for Sasha. I was the one who told him she could be trusted. And now Amber is trapped at the Pentagon—possibly terrified, possibly in danger—and all Lark has is silence.

“Sasha will take care of her,” I offer.

“Don’t,” Lark snaps.

“Don’t what?” I frown.

“Don’t act like you care.”

“I do care,” I say, sharper than I mean to.

He blows out a frustrated breath.

“I can’t even look at you,” he snaps, layering anger over something softer he doesn’t want me to see.

I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly thankful for the warmth of Eli’s clothes.

“You can’t look at me because Sasha didn’t follow through? Or because you found me in Eli’s room?”

Lark doesn’t answer right away. Just runs a hand over his face.

After a beat, he confesses, “I can’t do this with you right now, Kin.”

“Then go,” I bite back. “I don’t need you here when my mom shows up.”

His eyes fall to my hand. My left hand.

“Where’s your engagement ring?”

I swallow hard. “In a locker. Why?”

“Glad to know you took it off before you slept with him.”

“We aren’t together anymore, Lark,” I remind him. “You cheated. The ring came off. That was the end. Remember?”

“So, what now? We’re even?” he says bitterly. “I slept with Gina, and you slept with the Major. That makes us square?”

I shake my head. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I spent all night working with a team to get your mom here,” he practically spits with disgust, “and you were… with him.”

And there it is. The real reason he’s angry.

He didn’t do it for strategy. He did it for me. To make me feel something again. For him. To prove he could still be the one I lean on. Still be the hero.

But I don’t need a hero. Not anymore.

“Thank you for finding my mom,” I say softly. “You doing this… it means a lot to me.”

“I would’ve done it for anyone.” It lands cold and hard.

But I know that’s not true. Sure, Lark would go to bat for his crew, but assembling a team? Mobilizing a jet? That’s twice now he’s tried to track down the people I love.

Even if he’s a cheater, even if he broke me in ways I’m still healing from, he still cares. I see that now.