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He stopped pacing and looked at me, his eyes searching for an answer that he couldn’t find. “There’s been a development, Sof.”
The air looked like it had been sucked out of the room. Even Teo leaned against the sofa, barely drinking his cup of coffee. Jace stopped in front of me, the others forming a semi-circle around us. The air was thick with tension, and I could almost taste the bitter tang of fear. Jace’s eyes met mine.
“You’re not going to like hearing this,” he said.
“Yeah, I haven’t liked any of this, Jace,” I said. “In case you forgot about that.”
“We found out more about your dad,” he began, his words slow and deliberate. “The Viper’s been into some dark shit, but this...”
“What’s darker than being a serial killer?” I asked. I wasn’t annoyed, I was genuinely bewildered.
“It’s human trafficking, Sof,” Jace said.
That sliced open the last shred of hope that maybe, just maybe, some remnant of humanity lingered in the man I shared blood with. I felt my stomach churn, acid climbing up my throat as the full extent of his depravity settled into my bones. I knew it was stupid. I knew the man had already killed people, he had already killed my mom, he was trying to kill my brother and I. But if I had managed to chalk that up to illness or something, I might have been able to wrap my head around this. This...human trafficking...it was just pure fucking evil and greed.
“Jesus,” I whispered, my hand flying to my mouth as if it could hold back the nausea.
“Wait, there’s more,” Jace continued, and I braced myself against the mantle, afraid my legs would give out. “We’re talking children, Sofia. Innocent lives twisted and broken for profit...”
“Enough,” I choked out, the world tilting precariously. “I can’t... I need a minute.”
“Hey.” Grayson was suddenly there, his hand warm on my arm. “Sofia, look at me.”
I wanted to shake him off and go to the balcony. I couldn’t do this right then. I turned to him instead, my vision blurry with unshed tears. His face was a mask of regret, the usual cocksure tilt of his lips nowhere to be seen.
“I’m sorry. I really fucked up,” he said, and something in his voice cracked wide open. “For everything. For the phone, for pretending when I should’ve just been real with you.”
I exhaled, a shaky breath that felt like it carried pieces of my soul with it. “Grayson, not now—"
“No, it has to be now,” he insisted gently. “Because we don’t know how much time we have left, and I need you to understand that I care about you. That I’m here, really here for you. And that I get it. That this is bigger than me, that this isn’t just about protecting you but being honest with you. Look, I’m making a fool out of myself in front of Teo, Victor and Jace because I don’t want to hide anything from you. I don’t want to lie to you. I want...”
I narrowed my eyes, waiting for him to continue.
“I want you to trust me,” he said.
Looking into his eyes, all jade sincerity and raw vulnerability, I believed him. In the midst of the chaos, I found an anchor, and without a word, I leaned into him, letting my forehead rest against the solid comfort of his shoulder.
“Okay,” I murmured, the warmth from his body seeping into my chilled skin. “Let’s keep going.”
“Alright.” His voice vibrated through me as he spoke. “So, we go after the Viper, take him down before he can hurt anyone else.”
“Before he can hurt Sammy,” I said. “But it might take me a while to fully forgive you.”
Grayson shrugged. “I think that’s fair,” he said. “For the time being, let’s focus on what we can do. Can we really trust the feds with this?”
The question was for everyone, but ultimately, Teo was the one who was going to decide.
“Trust is a luxury we don’t have,” I replied, feeling the weight of every decision we made. This wasn’t my decision to make, but when the silence stretched for too long, I couldn’t help but interject. “But Teo is right. Can we afford not to?”
Grayson’s lips pressed into a thin line, the ghost of frustration flitting across his face. “There has to be another way—"
“Actually,” Teo said from where he leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his broad chest, “there might be one.”
“And that wasn’t your first idea?” I urged, my voice steadier than I felt.
“I just needed to think it through. Remember my cousin Bash?” He directed his gaze toward the rest of the Blades, away from me. “Leader of The Miami Knives?”
“The Knives?” Grayson arched an eyebrow, skepticism clear on his face.
