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“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t owe him a meeting, Jenny Wren.”

“I know. I’m not doing it for him.”

He nodded once. “I’ll be right outside the door.”

Simon took the monitor.

“I’m sorry I told Seb you were with me,” he said.

“I know why you did it. Don’t speak for me again.”

“I won’t.”

Robin drove me to the boathouse. At ten to one, I sat in Moff’s chair with the desk between me and the empty chair Seb would take. He’d understand the arrangement as soon as he walked in.

Dion leaned into the doorway four minutes before one.

“He’s on the pier.”

“Alone?”

“Alone. Walked up. Left the bike.” A pause. “You want me in here?”

“No.”

Dion grinned, but he watched me for another second before he went.

At exactly one, Seb appeared in the doorway. He knocked twice against the frame and waited.

In my head, he’d stayed exactly as I left him. The man in the doorway hadn’t. He’d lost enough weight to sharpen his face, and there were more silver streaks in his dark hair than I remembered. But he’d shaved and ironed his shirt. He’d made an effort for this meeting.

I stood. Not to greet him. I wanted him to see me.

His gaze moved over me in one quick sweep, top to bottom. My hips were wider. My chest was fuller because I was still feeding her. There was a softness across my middle that hadn’t been there a year ago, and I carried myself differently now. I didn’t fold my arms or turn away.

I watched him take in every change. His fingers curled once against his palm before he made them still.

I sat again and waved toward the chair on the other side of the desk. “Sit down.”

He sat.

“Robin said one of your men should be in here. If you want him, I’ll get him.”

“No.” I tipped my head toward the walls. “They’re all close enough to hear us. They’re pretending to work, but if either of us raises our voice, they’ll be through that door. Best security in the business, remember?”

He went still. I watched him remember the private room at Venom Virtues. The closed door. The scream he’d barely heard.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I remember.”

“I don’t need protecting from you, Seb. Not like that. I never did.”

His mouth opened. He closed it, then tried again.

“The video was fake,” he said. “Somebody used our private video and replaced my face with another man’s.”