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Aiden cleared his throat to capture my attention. “You’re here.” It wasn’t a question, yet I couldn’t help but think Aiden’s tone sounded almost accusatory.

“Didn’t you send for me, Your Highness?” I asked with a sarcastic bow and flippant eye roll. His own gaze hardened, turning to granite, but he simply turned away from me in lieu of a response.

Addressing the group as a whole, he said, “We need to discuss what Bianaca told me.”

Somebody placed their hand on my upper arm, their touch feather-soft.

I knew that touch. Loved it once. But now, it only made my insides sizzle and boil, searing my flesh.

I turned in his direction, and my mouth hardened into a thin line when I met Beau’s pleading gaze.

I was right in my assessment earlier—hedidlook like shit.

Dark shadows marred the skin beneath each of his eyes, and he looked as if he hadn’t slept in days. Fatigue had wreaked havoc on his beautiful features, creating lines that hadn’t been there before.

His finger automatically began to write on my arm, caressing the sensitive skin, but I wrenched it away before he could write out whatever he was going to.

Beau had been diagnosed with selective mutism after his step-father murdered his mom. As the sole witness to the crime, he’d been forced to testify at the trial and recall all that he’d seen.

The murder…

His mom’s death…

The trial…

It broke something in my best friend. Something fundamental. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had an actual conversation with him.

But apparently, he didn’t hesitate to talk to my tormentors.

Betrayal flayed me open when I thought about what I’d overheard—namely, him. He hadn’t talked to me in years, but he was perfectly capable of conversing with the men who bullied me? Destroyed my clothes? Threatened me? But that pain had nothing on the agony I’d felt when I saw Maria in his room. We weren’t together, but I’d thought…

Well, it was stupid of me to assume he felt the same way for me as I did for him.

Once more, Beau grabbed my arm and shakily wrote across my skin.

P-L-E—

I pulled away once more, crossing my arms over my chest and shifting so I stood directly beside Tanner.

Tanner’s bright blue eyes gleamed with amusement, and he didn’t hesitate to shift his body so it was directly behind mine. One of his strong, bronzed arms came to rest on my shoulders, pulling me even closer to him, until I could feel every hard, prominent ridge of his body against mine.

Beau’s eyes widened, pain flashing in their depths, before he lowered his head and focused once more on Aiden’s monologue.

“…need a plan. Now.”

“We need to leave by tonight,” I interjected, remembering Heath’s ominous warning. At their confused looks, I batted Tanner’s hands away from me and stepped forward. Clearing my throat, I continued before I lost my nerve. “It was something Heath told me.”

I swore one of Aiden’s eyes began to twitch in agitation. “And it was something you kept from me?” His tone was caustic, bitter even, but I knew most of his ire still had to do with his sister. A part of him must’ve known that his sister was gone, but having it confirmed…

My heart ached for the man, even while my brain instructed my fist to punch him in the nose. My body was the epitome of contradictions, and I had no one to blame but him.

“Not on purpose, asshole,” I seethed, glaring. “There was a lot to process.”

“What is it?” Kace murmured, still staring at his thighs. His messy red hair fell forward, obscuring his features even more. “God, we’re fucked, aren’t we? So fucking fucked.”

Aiden gave his friend a concerned look before focusing on me. He raised one pierced eyebrow, waiting.

Always waiting.

He was such a fucking prick sometimes, I wanted to take his piercing and rip it from his face.

“We need to leave tonight,” I repeated, swallowing heavily. “Because if we don’t…Heath said it will be too late.”