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“Ha. Ha. Very funny.” He gives me a rare grin, before turning the conversation back serious. “At first, we were all skeptical of him, but then we got to know him. He was good to her, treated her well, and got along with all of us. He was starting to fit into our family, but then things changed fast. They took a turn, and it was like none of us ever really knew anything about him in the first place. He had demons. Dark ones. Though there had to have been some good inside of him deep down.”
“Had? Why are you saying had?” My voice quivers. He’s talking like Greyson is dead. I don’t know why I’m feeling this way, but the thought of him being gone tears me apart. It shouldn't, considering the way he stabbed me in the back, but some part of me still cares. The part of me that’s surrounded by my demons that match his.
“We had to get answers out of him, and that involved a bit of torture. He may have also gotten shot in the leg.” He rushes that last part out, probably hoping I won’t hear.
“May have?” My voice is strained now.
Zep sighs, running his fingers through his messy bond hair. “I shot him. He fucking deserved worse for what he did to Lya, so I’d say he got off lightly. After we got the information we needed to find you, we left him there. Lya didn’t want to kill him so we just left. None of us know if he made it out or not.”
“Pretty risky, don’t you think? To just leave him there?”
“In hindsight, it was a dumb move. We should’ve covered ourselves and made sure he was gone for good, but in the heat of the moment, none of us were thinking straight. Do you understand now why Lya is so protective of you? He’s a fucking psycho. None of us know what he might do if he’s still out there.” His tone is distant, but his eyes are softer than usual, trying to get me to understand.
“I guess I get that, but if he wanted to get to me that bad, don’t you think he would have shown up already? Especially since he probably knows where you guys live. Do you think he’s still out there?” I ask hesitantly, unsure of what I want the answer to be.
“Maybe. I don’t know. We haven’t seen him, but he got through our defenses once so we’re overly cautious about everything now.” Anger sparks through his gaze at the memory of Greyson deceiving them.
My shoulders slump. “Do you think Lya will let me have any freedom?” .
“Complete freedom—probably not, until we know whether Greyson is alive or not. And also not until we get this Sutton thing figured out. But Thiago, Rian, and I did talk to her about giving you a bit more space.”
“Really? Did she agree?” My voice is hopeful; I’m praying he says something good.
“We talked about it and all decided that you’re right. We’re being a little too overbearing, so yes, you can start volunteering at the library if you want.”
I have a suspicion that this might partially be a distraction from the bomb Lya just dropped on me, but I don’t care. I’m too excited.
“Seriously?!” I’m basically jumping out of bed now, though my head starts spinning from the movement.
Zep just sits there with his signature scowl, and no hint of emotion. “There will be ground rules, though. We aren’t just going to let you go in there guns blazing without any sort of restrictions. Lya agreed to the library since it’s not too far from the office, and we can get to you fast if we need to.” I guess beggars can’t be choosers in this situation. Honestly, I’ll take anything if it gets me out of the house.
“Of course, anything. I’ll do whatever.” A grin cracks across my face.
“Alright, alright, calm down there. You’ll still be under our supervision—keeping you safe is the most important thing—but it’ll be a bit more relaxed. If you see any sign of Greyson, you better tell us immediately. Now get some sleep, we’ll talk more about it tomorrow,” he declares, getting up from the chair to leave my room.
“Hey, Zep?”
He stops in the doorway, turning around to face me. “Yeah?”
“Thank you. This means a lot to me.”
He just nods, as he closes the door. My heart races as I think about how excited I am to get out of this damn house. I won’t be getting much sleep tonight. I wonder exactly how soon I can start at the library.
It’s not much, but it’s a good start to getting my life back.
Just as I lay back against the pillow with a huge smile on my face, there’s another knock at the door.
“What, two conversations in one night, Zep? People are going to think you’re a gossip queen if you keep this up. You can come back in,” I yell at the closed door. Zep probably just forgot to tell me something, but I can’t help but tease him.
As the door glides open, I see Lya standing there instead.
“Uh, hi,” she says awkwardly. I wave my hand and pat my bed, telling her to come sit next to me.
“What’s up, Lee?”
Her face twists in confusion, like she’s trying to figure out what to say as she sits next to me on the bed. “I just wanted to check on you, since I unloaded all that information, and then you passed out.”
“I’m doing alright. I can’t say I was expecting that, so it came as a shock. I do have a question though.”
