She gives a nervous laugh that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Your father.”
My father.
The disease I haven’t burned out yet.
“Kill you?” she asks. “Why would he want to kill me?”
My voice is a snarl now. “I don’t know. But we’re going to find out. And when we do, he’ll wish death came sooner.”
I pull out my phone. Dial. “Get the others. Meet me at my father’s house.”
Then I reach for her hand and drag her out of the classroom.
I don’t mean to be rough. But when someone threatenswhat’s mine, they don’t get warnings. They getburied.
“Wyck, slow down!” she pants, trying to keep up. “Where are we going?”
“To pay your soon-to-be ex-husband a visit.”
She stops cold. “No. No, I can’t go over there. You saw what the text said.”
“It’s cute when you whine, Little Fox. But not right now.” My voice sharpens. “If that coward thinks he can send you threats and walk away untouched, then he’s clearly forgotten who the fuck I am.”
And maybe I forgot, too.
Forgot how far I’m willing to go for her.
But I remember now.
She’s quiet for a beat. Then: “I’m sorry, Wyck.”
I freeze.
Spin back. My rage cracks at the edges. “Don’t youeverapologize for something thathedid.”
I pull her into my arms. Tight. Like I can anchor her. Like I can keep the shadows from touching her.
“I’m not mad at you,” I say against her temple. “I’m just fucking done with him. With all of them. The Elders. The lies. The way they think we’re still their pawns. They’ve mistaken our silence for obedience.”
She leans into me, finally softening.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
I kiss her hair. She tastes like storm clouds and trust I don’t deserve.
And then I ask, because I can’t help it. “Why is his name saved asWhere did the O go?”
She looks away, but I see the heat bloom in her cheeks. “Because I never had an orgasm with him.”
What the fuck.
I blink. “So… when I heard you two back then?”
“Faking it. Every time.”
My knuckles whiten on the wheel as I slide into the driver’s seat. She climbs in next to me.
“Wyck, why do you think I’m so… dickmatized?” she asks.
