Page 244

“Are you sure you can’t stay one more night? I’ll get you a room here.”

She laughs softly. “Look at you, Miss Hotelier.”

“Please,” I say, because it’s not really about the room. It’s about holding on to the one person in my life who knows what it’s like to have a mother’s love become a weapon. “It was nice having a girl around. Now I’m stuck with nothing but men.”

“Can’t. We’re getting the keys to the apartment in the morning.”

I nod, swallowing disappointment. “I understand.”

Her smile fades into something more serious. “Look, I’m sorry, Zaiya. I know I was kind of a bitch to you.”

I shake my head too fast. “No. Don’t worry about it.”

What I want to say is heavier. Guilt sits in me like a stone. Nothing she did to me compares to what I took from her. But I can never tell her the truth. All she knows is that her mom died in that fire.

She stares at me, and I swear she sees the thought anyway.

“Seriously, I want us to be sisters.” She hesitates. “Or at least friends.”

I nod. “Of course we’re friends, Calista.” My voice catches. “And I’m sorry about…”

Her smile turns solemn. “I know.” She looks down the corridor as if she’s picturing the church where everything went wrong. “It’s this town. It’s toxic. It ruined my mom.”

She looks back at me. “I’m worried about you being here. I know you like Edwin…”

“I love him,” I say with quick conviction.

Calista pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. “Just be careful, okay?”

“I will,” I promise. Trying to explain that I’m the safest person in Shadow Bluff would be pointless. How would I say that I have an army of powerful men behind me?

“You know you’re welcome to stay here anytime,” I add. “If you just want to come and party.”

She gives a breathy laugh. “Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll ever come back here. We got the house cleaned out. I’m only taking what I need. Once Wayne and I get settled, I want to move his parents out there too.”

“Yeah,” I say. “I can’t blame you.”

She steps in and hugs me again, and this time I hold on. I think of the cemetery. The way she pulled me out of the dark, even when we didn’t get along. How she showed me that love can exist without ownership.

“I better go,” she says, pulling back. “Text me. And hit me up if you’re ever in Chicago.”

I walk her out onto the main floor where the noise crashes over us again. Wayne waits there for her. I give him a small wave. He nods, respectful and careful around me now that he’s seen me on that throne.

Calista takes his hand and disappears into the crowd.

The emptiness her absence creates surprises me. I hate that she’s leaving. I’m happy she’s escaping. Both feelings sit in my chest at once.

Arms surround me from behind.

“You okay?” Edwin’s voice is low near my ear.

I lean back against him and let myself exhale. “Yeah.”

“Want a break?”

A grin creeps across my mouth. “Absolutely.”

The club’s pulse fades as he leads me through the hotel. Up. Higher. The elevator hums with our ascent, and his hands are already on me.