I power on the phone and call Wren.
He answers on the first ring.“Hey, Ray.”
“You sound like shit.”
He laughs, but it’s strained.“Feel like it, too.”
A familiar beeping hums in the background.“Wait… are you in med care?”
He groans.“Something like that.”
“What happened?”
His silence stretches on too long.“Don’t make me ask again, Wren.”
He exhales heavily.“Your dad.He found us.Beat the shit out of me.”
Shit.Too soon.
“How long do I have?”I ask.“Let’s put the Sevyn plan in motion.Buy some time, get him to back off.”
“No need.He’s not coming for you.”
It takes a beat for that to register.“What do you mean?”
“There was an emergency scare with your mom.She collapsed.”
My pulse quickens.
“She’s fine now,” he quickly adds.“On bed rest.”
A slow breath leaves me.“Thanks, Wren.”
“Before he left, he said he’d give you time to do what you need to do and come home.But with one rule: you canpoint, but you can’tshow.Break that rule, andhewill die.”
“Wow, I…didnotexpect that.”
“Well, you know how he is about your mom.Nothing comes above her.”
Oh, I know all too well.
Wren exhales.“He also made it clear that if anything happens to you in there, we’re all dead.”He pauses.“Theyare all dead.”
“No one delivers a threat quite like dear old Dad.”
Wren’s voice tightens.“This is serious, Ray.Pleasebe careful with them.I know how you get when your emotions run high, so just…please.”
“I will.”Easier said than done.“I promise.”
~
LATER THAT NIGHT, I’m lounging on the bedroom balcony, staring out at the vast nothingness of the desert, when a knock sounds at the door.
At first, I think it’s Luca, but he never knocks.Just barges in.
I pad across the room and swing it open.A kitchen staff member stands at the threshold with a dome-covered silver tray.
“I think you have the wrong room,” I say.“I didn’t request anything.”
