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He glared, then his eyes flashed behind me. I turned to the mounted screen on the wall where a vivid red headline motioned beneath the news anchor.

Company of Essential Guardianship: Who will essentially take over?

I hadn’t spoken to Lace since the incident with Tristan. With the holidays approaching, no way he had time to pick up my calls for check-ins.

Lorenzo cleared his throat, his eyes softening. “His father is close to deciding on the CEG’s shares and inheritance.”

If he was making a decision, then that meant. . . “Is Lace going to inherit the company?”

Lorenzo shrugged as he picked up a pair of dumbbells. “With the guardians vouching for him, maybe. He’s been sufficient and competent compared to his brothers.”

All three brothers were the face of the company. The oldest was in charge of business plans to achieve high marketing and capital. The middle brother focused on expansion and the testing facilities that were fixated on the science of guardians. This left Lace to fend for the CEG alongside his dad, who was practically retired now.

The sound was off, but the closed captions continued across the screen as the news anchor spoke.

“The Bureau is trying to meddle? Of course, they are. At least the Vampire Ministry is staying out—”

“You can catch up on politics later.” He settled his back on the inclined bench and angled his arms into a push stance. “There’s something else we need to talk about.”

I grabbed my own set of weights, settling into the bench next to him. I barely started pushing when he said, “I know about the scheme the Sephtis pulled on you, Nina.”

A weight pressed against my shoulders and within my chest. And it wasn’t from the dumbbells.

I let them go onto the floor as a dry laugh escaped me. “And I thought Lace sent you here to reunite us.”

“He did.” He finished his set and settled the weights on the floor, angling toward me. “But I also know of your non-feeding habits.

“I’m not up for a lecture right now.” I stood, ready to sprint away, but he gripped my wrist.

“Listen, you settled a situation like a guardian would. But that doesn’t hide the fact that you weren’t feeding while taking stronger medication. The situation could have escalated.”

I pulled away from Lorenzo’s grip, making sure I kept the sigh of relief to myself. “Okay, okay! I get it. Lace wants me to have a babysitter to make sure I eat. Fine. Do you need to sniff my mouth every day to make sure I do?”

“No, Nina. If those guys do something else, it’ll affect the CEG and Lace. Nothing can happen until his dad makes the final decision. We can’t ruin Lace’s shot.”

In other words, you can’t ruin Lace’s shot.

Of course, I fucking knew that. I already slipped up once, and Lace let me stay. He still trusted me as guardian for the Sephtis. Which is why I was trying everything to not disappoint him and protect him.

So much for training.

* * *

Alek sat on his side of the bench in the mausoleum. We’ve only met a handful of times, but somehow it felt like the hundredth. Granted, our meetings across the lake have been boring. The guy doesn’t talk unless it’s to get on my nerves. It’s like he knew how to get under my skin.

And I hated how I couldn’t tell if I liked it or not.

Usually, he broke the silence first. But after meeting with my cousin, I needed to get this over with and be alone.

“Did you report the intruder to the CEG?”

Alek glared at me, his eyes narrowing as he said, “No. Until it’s fully confirmed that the intruder was someone outside of the CEG, then we’ll keep it between ourselves.”

“So why are we here?” I said as I rested against the wall.

“Tristan stumbled upon information regarding the possible intruder. Heed your surroundings.”

“You want me to look out for more clues?”