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“No promises,” she mutters, turning and stalking away, knowing I’ll keep up.

“Rose!” I snap, not liking that.

“Oh, get over yourself, Prince!” she calls, shaking her hair back over her shoulder. “And come on. This is important.”

I groan, following my ex towards her tent, hoping this isn’t some kind of trap.

When we step inside, I look around Rose’s tent with interest, noting that she…kind of has a sweet setup.

“Here,” she says, hauling a trunk over to the desk where she’s set up with three monitors that curve around a laptop. She slaps the top of the trunk before she sits down on her tall lab stool, clicking the laptop on. “You can sit here.”

“What…is all this?” I ask, frowning as I do as I’m told, sitting on the trunk and looking at the monitors with interest. I have to admit, I’m relieved that all of this is here and that Rose actually seems like she’sdoingsomething instead of setting some kind of weird seduction trap.

“This is my workspace,” Rose murmurs, typing in her passwords and then opening a few files that flash up on the individual screens. “There,” she says, crossing her arms and lifting her chin toward the images. “Recognize these?”

I lean forward, studying the pictures, instantly recognizing the photos as the Children of Solace town – though they were taken at night and they’re certainly not the clearest pictures she’s ever produced.

“You took these…the second time we went?” I ask, glancing at her. Rose nods. I look back at the images, shaking my head. “I don’t get it, Rose.”

“Yeah, youdon’t, Cole,” she snaps, turning toward me on her stool.

I sigh and turn towards her, realizing that itisa trap. Now that she’s lured me in with real evidence, she’s withholding it until I have this fight with her.

“Look, I get that you were pissed at me,” she snaps, her voice tight now in a way that stirs my conscience. “But do you know howembarrassingit was to have the fuckingChancellorcall me and tell me that I was being removed from the job?”

I tighten my jaw, not regretting my decision.

“This is mycareer, Cole –“

“You weren’tactinglike it was your career –“

“Don’tthrowthat at me,” she snarls, leaning forward, glaring. “You know aswellas I do that our history and our relationship has crossed athousandlines over the years. Andyes, you were drawing a new boundary, and no, to that point I hadn’t respected it. But having mefired?”

She leans back, turning her face away, tears starting in her eyes.

I sigh, my shoulders slumping, suddenly wondering if I was too rash. But…Ihadtold her to stop before. And shemadethreats against my mate!

But…would she honestly have gone through with them? Or was it just the thing that people say when they’re all tied up in a web of emotions and they get overdramatic?

I sigh, not knowing where I stand anymore, hating to see her this upset.

“Look, Rose,” I murmur. “I…did what I thought was right.”

“Well, you weren’t.”

“All right,” I say, trying to find some middle ground here. “If I’m wrong about it, then…I’ll be willing to admit that, once I see it that way. But can we just move on from the personal side of it? What did you bring me here to show me?”

“I came here to show you that Ihavethis job because I’m thebest. Which is why your fatherhiredme in the first place - and which is why here-hiredme when I showed himthis.”

Her fingers fly over the keyboard, calling up larger versions of the same images. I turn back to the screen.

“Watch,” she says.

I do, keeping my eyes focused on the screen as she selects one image from the dozens displayed and enlarges it. As I watch, she runs the computer through a series of complicated programs, continually zooming in on the image and enhancing it. I frown, not getting it, just seeing a bunch of grey and green shapes taking form in the footage…

Until…

I gasp, my eyes going wide as I see what forms on the screen.