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“If it’s about Ryan’s pain, I agree.” I held her gaze. “I’m not asking you to tell me how he felt after he left or what it took for him to stay gone. He asked me to wait for that conversation, and I will.”

“Then wait,” Aura said.

“I am waiting for Ryan’s story. I’m asking why mentioning Milwaukee made both of you look at each other like I found something I wasn’t supposed to know existed.”

Neither answered.

I turned toward the closed door. “Fine.”

“Where are you going?” Bliss asked.

“Back to the party.”

“Charm.”

I stopped with my hand near the doorknob. “You can’t drop this on me and then lie to my face. If you’re protecting something private that belongs to Ryan, say that plainly. I will walk out of this room and wait for him to tell me. But if this involves me, I deserve to know.”

Silence settled behind me and I turned around. Bliss had tears in her eyes. Aura stood beside the couch with her arms folded tightly across herself, and another wordless conversation passed between them.

“What does it have to do with me?”

“Cee,” Bliss whispered.

“What happened in Milwaukee?”

“Your father contacted the Inferno,” Aura said.

For several seconds, the sentence meant nothing. I heard every word without understanding how they belonged together.

“Lance contacted Ryan’s team?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“He told them he had concerns about Ryan.”

“What kind of concerns?”

Neither woman answered quickly enough.

“Did Lance try to interfere with Ryan’s contract?”

“Yes,” Bliss said.

The blood drained from my hands. “When?”

“After Ryan signed. We don’t know the exact date.”

“What did he tell them?”

“That Ryan was dangerous,” Aura answered. “He claimed Ryan had isolated you from your family, intimidated you, emotionally abused you, and contributed to the condition you were in when you entered treatment.”

“No.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t.” I pushed away from the door. “Ryan didn’t isolate me. I hid him. He spent our entire relationship begging me to choose him and us, and I refused.”