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“Dante!” Yvette calls after me.

I stop only once I’m near the front door. “What?” I ask her.

“Your father may not want to talk about the plans with the Greivans, but I think you should know that he plans on storming in if the discussions with your uncle don’t work,” she informs me.

I huff. “I could have guessed.”

“Perhaps you should talk to him. I don’t think it’s a good idea to jump the gun,” she tells me. “There are new children in the family—triplets, born just yesterday.”

I frown at the floor. “How do you know this?”

She steps closer to me. “I know their mother, Darlene. I know several women in the Greivans—at least, I did before I pledged myself to this family. To Tessa.”

I look up at her, finally meeting her eyes. “What do you expect me to do about this?”

“Anything. One day you might be in your father’s place, Dante. Do you want your legacy to be full of blood and death like his is?” she asks, her voice quiet but clear.

“Blood and death are part of this life,” I remind her.

“I know that better than you can imagine, Dante, but some of the blood spilled is innocent. Blood from those who haven’t had a choice in their family or their path,” she says. “I know about your mother, and?—”

I snap. “Don’t talk about her. You don’t know anything.”

I spin away from her, planning on storming out the door and leaving her behind as quickly as possible.

But something stops me in my tracks. I can’t make myself leave.

Instead, I stand with my back toward her, feeling her behind me still.

I sigh.

“Alright. Let’s talk.”

Ethan hasn’t sent me a text or called me to tell me that something has gone terribly wrong. So that either means everything is fine, or he’s been kidnapped and is already dead.

The second is a very low possibility, but still one that I can’t help but think about all day during classes. He doesn’t message me to meet for lunch, but he does text me at the end of his final class, asking if I’m still on campus.

I agree to pick him up and go back to his apartment so we can have some alone time.

The car ride is quiet, but I know what question is lingering in the air. I simply drive and wait for him to get the courage to ask.

It’s not until we’re sitting in the parking lot and I’m turning the engine off that Ethan speaks.

“What did your family want?” he asks. “You didn’t message me after you left, so it must have been a lot.”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about,” I tell him.

Ethan takes his seatbelt off. “It is. You barely said a word to me all the way here.”

I chuckle. “I thought you were the one who didn’t wanna talk.”

“So we both want to talk, then. You go first. Tell me what’s going on with your family.” Ethan turns a bit in his seat. The heat is off now, so it won’t be long until the car is cold.

“Let’s go inside first.” I get out and open Ethan’s door for him. I follow him, taking in everything around us. There’s no one hiding in the bushes, no one standing outside suspiciously. It still doesn’t mean it’s safe, though.

“Just so you know, two guards will be in the parking lot,” I tell him as we head up the stairs.

“Until you leave?” Ethan asks.