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Theo frowned. “Too … much…”
“Too much what? Danger? Excuse me, but have I not shown you I laugh in the face of—”
“…talking.”
I sat back on my haunches. “Oh. Sorry.” I glanced around the room. “I was really on a roll there.”
“…nervous.”
Rolling my eyes back to him, I said, “Even half-conscious, you’re obnoxious. I know I talk too much when I’m nervous. You don’t need to throw it at me.”
“Scared…”
I went quiet.
He coughed, and instead of my dusty, dry croaks, his were clogged with blood bubbles and mucous, and shook his entire, weakened form.
“God … here.” I flew to protect his head, hold his neck steady, while the cascade overtook him. “Please be okay,” I whispered, mostly to myself.
“Fine. I’m—fine.”
“Yeah, you’re a real trooper.” But, in a fit of emotion, I laid my forehead against his temple while I still held him closer. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“You do that to me … on a daily basis. Every minute.”
Theo was sticky, but warm. His hand moved to find mine, and I met him halfway. “Then I guess we’re meant for each other,” I said.
“Where are we?”
“Your father’s basement. Maybe one of many, I don’t know.”
“How did you get here?”
“Gordon invited me.”
Theo stiffened, the action causing his cheek to wince under my skin. “And you came? Why?”
“Because he knew where I was, that I’d come back. If I wasn’t going to come willingly, he’d take me. Forcibly. Possibly putting Kai in danger. Or Verily. I’d rather do as your father wants than have my friends face the consequences.”
“Interesting. If only you’d thought that way before re-entering poker rooms after getting shot by my brother.”
“I see that the coughing fit helped clear your airways.” I lifted off so I could glare at him better.
Theo’s eyes were open, the clear, opulent blue at a severe contrast to the blood and shadow of this room. The blue moved closer.
“How long have I been down here?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. But it’s taken me a day and a half to get back to New York. And I started the process immediately after I realized what you’d done.”
His upper lip lifted into what maybe was a smile. “It was either you or me, sweetheart.”
“Doesn’t it always come down to that?” I asked. “Why can’t we just be two people who found each other through a dating app?”
“Because you’re you, and I’m me.” He let out a low rumble in an attempt to clear his throat further.
I studied the length of his form, then back up again. “Why did they do this do you?”
“Exactly what you said during your nervous ramble. Father figured that once I located Trace, I’d send him back with Bo and make my own disappearance.”
