Page 5

Kaden was eating breakfast when I walked in. I made a plate, settled into a chair, and then debated.

Did I dare ask? One of these days, I’d stop. I didn’t know how many days it would take, though, because it wouldn’t be today.

“Are we going?” I had a hunch we weren’t. Today would most likely progress as the seven days prior.

“I’ve got some things I need to handle.”

He didn’t bother looking away from his paper.

Yep. Different day, same answer. His urgency to undo the transition seemed to have stalled out. We were no longer trying to go backward, but he didn’t seem to want to move forward either. Every time I saw him, it was the same story.We’ll do it tomorrow.Then, when tomorrow came, he’d say something had come up. At this point, nothing was getting accomplished at all. Herrick was out there, a looming threat, and Kaden was…

I didn’t knowwhathe was doing. I wasn’t sure if it was best to let him continue to idle or press for movement. So I did what I’d been doing for the last week.

“Okay—tomorrow, then.” If he wanted to continue to be up in the air, that was fine. I was moving forward without him. He just didn’t know it.

“Tomorrow.” He nodded.

I reached for my coffee and noticed the slip of newspaper sitting in the middle of the table, conveniently opened to the crossword. I couldn’t pull my gaze from it, and my fingers itched for the feel of a pen. Did I dare ask? Could it be? Was that an olive branch he’d just held out?

“I didn’t want it,” Kaden said.

I looked at him, not realizing how obvious I’d been.

“Then you don’t mind if I take it?” I asked, wanting to see if he’d step on the branch he’d extended.

“Like I said, I don’t want it.” He shook out his paper and went back to reading.

“Okay, well, if you don’twantit…” I slowly reached forward, waiting to see what would happen. I snatched the paper.

I waited to see if he’d hand me a pen. He didn’t. Okay, so it was kind of an olive branch, but maybe a puny one without too many leaves. Still, it was progress in one area.

I got up and walked over to the side table, where Soleil kept a stash of pens in the drawer for me, and plucked out two.

I slid one over to him.

He looked at it and then glanced up at me, a question on his face.

“I figured you must’ve run out.” I smiled.

Although he didn’t comment, or smile, or do much of anything, he did take the pen and put it in his pocket.

He finished his breakfast, getting up to go to whatever important distraction he had lined up for today.

Cookie poked her head in the room, glancing around. Her blond hair almost spiked on top of her head.

“He’s gone, right?” Her heavy boots had given away her approach from halfway down the hall, ruining any attempt at being covert.

At this point, everyone knew I could pinpoint Kaden’s location if he was anywhere nearby.

“He’s not here. I don’t know where he went off to today, but he’s out of range.”

“Oh good.” She turned toward the hall and screamed, “The coast is clear,” before she walked in with her paperwork.

I cleared a spot for her on the table.

She went through her pile and then slid a sheet to me.

“We all know Herrick is a dirty bastard who likes to play tricks. This is the latest list of people he might be able to recruit and use against us. Memorize these names. I think they’re all weak links.”