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I’m trying to be good. I really am.

Kit and I order egg white omelets and avocado toast from a local favorite breakfast joint, sitting at the kitchen island to enjoy a healthy start. I mean truthfully if I’m going to die a bloody death sooner than later, I’m not sure why I care if it’s with clogged arteries. However, I do want to be physically capable of making sure whoever kills me dies with me. And of late, I haven’t been training or eating right, a detail Kane pointed out before he left for work. A blade takes skill and strength to kill with, Lilah. You must be ready for anything that comes your way. What if I don’t get here in time the next time you’re attacked? And there will be a next time.

He’s right. It’s been two weeks since I sparred with him, and just as long since I hit the weights. No sleep, shitty eating, and zero training, makes for a live girl finding herself dead. I do not like weakness, certainly not in myself. And I swore I’d never allow myself to be as easily held down as I was on that beach that night.

The only blood in the water will be the asshole’s who tries to attack me. “We need to talk about Jay,” I comment after a bite of my omelet.

“I thought it was Enrique you have a problem with.”

I ignore him and stay focused. “He’s too good for all of us.”

“Enrique? What the fuck?”

“Do not act slow,” I say pointing my fork at him, “you know I’m talking about Jay.”

“When Enrique defied you and called Kane, Jay would not have. He would have been right there with you, risking the wrath of Kane. Kane would have been pissed but ultimately okay with it because that would mean you had someone that loyal to you. But for the record, Enrique has seen some shit with Kane’s father that no human should ever experience. He was afraid for him and you.”

“I know he’s loyal and that’s why I don’t want him to end up dead.”

“Careful,” he says, “someone might think you have a heart.”

“I also have a gun.”

“And yet you always find a knife.”

“That’s me showing restraint. I need to get Jay trained and hardened up. I want whoever it is to try to scare him off or toughened up.”

“I know a guy but he’d need Jay with him for a good month.”

“Does Kane know him?”

“Yes.”

“Will Jay survive him?”

“I think he’s tougher than you think, Lilah. And the police academy does not prepare him for our world. It’s wasting his time and yours.”

“Make it happen then. And speaking of loyalty, why aren’t you with Kane?”

“Raz is with him. And Raz doesn’t fuck around. Kane’s safe with him.”

“Kane is determined to flash him about for all to see.”

“It’s all part of his plan.”

“For the record, I’m glad it’s Raz and not you.”

“I would have done it for Kane.”

“I know.” That’s all I have to say to Kit. It’s a thank you. It’s respect and appreciation.

He gives me a nod. “Where to next?”

“I want to go visit the team, but I need to take a detour to Mark’s place first.”

“Why?”

“Because I said,” I say, sliding off the barstool to toss the empty box that once held my food that is now in my belly.

It’s the only answer I give him and he wouldn’t want the truth anyway. I do really want to see if I missed anything, but if Elsa is biting on the taunt me and Ghost have sent her, she’s coming to the Hamptons. She might even be here already.

And sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight, for instance inside her dead brother’s house.