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“Did you think I would let him get away with hurting you?” He lifted his chin. “His business practices were the first thing I targeted. I had no idea it went this deep.”

Thorn nodded with approval. “Nice.”

“So, he’s blackmailing you. How do you know he isn’t bluffing?” Lloyd asked.

“He showed me the pictures and knew my username.”

Lloyd’s lips pressed together, but not before he let out a gasp of dismay. It was strange to think about that time together, before I knew who he was. When I was his honey girl, and I believed the future had more for me than running. There were shades of bittersweet.

“I’m so sorry, Tully,” Pan whispered.

“Why? You didn’t make him do this to me.” My shoulder burned.

“I thought he was my friend. I trusted him.” Pan had lost his haughty sheen, and it made him fragile. The sharp edges in him were brittle like glass.

“We were both fooled by Chase, Pan. He’s charming, and very good at getting what he wants. This time I’m not giving himthe satisfaction. He’s seething right now, and those photos will be online before twenty-four hours is up because his ego won’t allow him to wait.”

“What do you want us to do?” Ajax leaned forward.

I took a deep breath. The words waiting in my throat cut my pride. What I was working on in The Barracks was more important than ego. That’s something Chase could never understand. My parents died believing it. I finally felt like I was a Tully Hartlock I could be proud of, and I wouldn’t let him ruin it.

“You have resources, connections, and a reputation that I don’t. When this comes out—”

“It won’t—” Walden growled, but I cut him off.

“Whenthis comes out,” I continued, enjoying the shell-shocked look on his face. “I want to meet this head-on. I’m not shying away, and I refuse to be judged. But I’m working on my documentary project and I don’t want it negatively affected.”

“Spell it out for us, angel.” Pan narrowed his eyes.

“How would you feel about pretending to be a pack? He’ll be more wary if he thinks I have your protection. He’s intimidated by our connection. It might sway him to reconsider.”

You could have heard a pin drop in the room. Pan recovered quicker than the rest of them, with an arch of a sardonic eyebrow. “Why pretend when we can have the real thing?”

Lloyd choked and hauled his bag against his chest.

“Is that the price I have to pay for you to help me, Pan?” I said.

He blanched, and his jaw clenched. “No, no, Tully—I was just trying to bring some levity. This shit is dark.”

I offered a small smile. “I get it. Right now, I’m working hard on discovering who I am, and I think it’s best to do that single. You don’t have to give me an answer right now.”

I turned to Lloyd, who had sweat on his upper lip. “I thought you said you’d never set foot in this place again?”

Lloyd nodded to the bag in his clutched hold. “I came with supplies to help me cope.”

My eyebrows scrunched together and Lloyd opened the top, showing me the stacks of noodle packets inside.

My bottom lip wobbled as a sudden rush of emotion crashed over me.

I thought I’d been fine, but being here with them, and knowing Lloyd was facing his worst fear, while I processed mine. It was a lot. He trembled. I couldn’t let him stand there any longer. I crossed the space between us and folded my arms around his neck. He shook even harder against me.

“You didn’t have to come.” My lungs drowned in salt. I cupped his face. “Why did you?”

Lloyd had grown up in the belly of this unforgiving place. He experienced tendrils of darkness, cold, and hunger that burrowed into his bones. It was still there, and I wondered if it was hard for him to breathe.

His eyes fluttered closed and his chest whispered against mine. “You’re here. And I want to be wherever you are, honey girl.”

His words hurt and healed. They twisted their way through the space between my ribs and nestled against my thudding heart. I knew how much it cost him to face this place again.I knew. It cost him peace, the bubble of safety and surety that he ruled his life by. Lloyd invited in the horrible memories and fear he’d felt when he’d been trapped here.