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New June wants to do those things too. The impulse is there, sharp and insistent. Demand proof. Check his call history. Make him unlock his phone right now and show me.

But I don’t.

Because I love him.

Because I just told him I loved him a few hours ago and meant it.

If I demand proof of everything he says, then what does that say about us? About whether I actually trust him or if I’m just pretending to while waiting for him to fuck up again?

New June is supposed to trust people.

New June is supposed to give second chances because New June is fighting for a second chance herself.

So I swallow the accusation, push down the suspicion, and choose to trust him, even though every instinct I have is screaming that he’s lying.

“Okay,” I say. “That makes sense.” I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly aware that I’m standing in a motel doorway wearing nothing but a t-shirt. “Thanks for looking out for us.”

Something shifts in his face. Relief, maybe. Or guilt. I can’t tell and I don’t want to examine it too closely because if I do, I might change my mind about letting this go.

Instead, I take advantage of the fact that he looks slightly off-balance.

You give a little, you get a little.

“I want to see my brother,” I say.

Wraith’s eyebrows go up. “What?”

“Evan. I want to see him. Call him, meet up with him.” I step fully outside now, closing the door behind me, and lean against it. The air is cool against my bare legs. “The Devils put me in that safe-house apartment. They’re going to know something went wrong when they check on it. When they find the broken door and the blood and everything else.”

“June, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“And when they find that, Evan is going to think I’m dead. Or kidnapped again. Or worse.” The words come faster now, gaining momentum. “I don’t want him to worry. I don’t want him to think the worst. He put up with so much of my shit, but now I want to be a better sister. A more responsible sister. And that means not putting him through the hell of thinking I’ve been murdered or taken when I’m actually fine.”

“You’re not fine.” Wraith’s voice is gentle but firm. “You’re being hunted by the Sons. We both are. If we contact him, we’re opening ourselves up to a lot of problems?“

“Problems? Like what? Like having people who might actually help us instead of just running forever? Or is it me letting someone who loves me know that I’m okay?” I cross my arms tighter. “Or are you worried about something else?”

Wraith’s jaw tightens. “I’m worried about keeping you alive. That’s all I’ve been worried about since I came back. That’s why I came back. I love you, June.”

“I know that.” And I do. I believe that part, at least. Whatever he’s lying about, I don’t think it’s about whether he wants to protect me. “I love you, too. But I also know that Evan is probably losing his mind right now. And I can’t do that to him. Not after everything he’s already been through because of me. I love him also, Wraith. After our parents died, he was all I had left. He took care of me and gave up so much for me. I need to see him.”

Wraith looks at me for a long moment. His gray eyes are unreadable in the amber light from the parking lot. I can see him thinking, calculating, and running through scenarios in his head.

This is where Old Dylan would have shut me down. Would have told me no, it’s too dangerous, I don’t understand the risks, he knows best.

And I can see that impulse in him now.

But he also knows that’s not how this works anymore. Not if he wants to keep me. Not if he wants New June instead of the woman he used to control.

“If we do this,” he says slowly, “we do it my way.”

There it is. The familiar pattern. The compromise that’s not really a compromise because it still puts him in charge.

I should call him out on it. Should push back.

But I also really want to see my brother.

And if agreeing to Wraith’s terms is what it takes to make that happen, then maybe that’s okay.