Page 115 of Blood in the Water

But there was still so much for me to figure out. So much for me to understand, about myself, about Wynn, and Ryuji and Ciel. About the future I wanted with them—if they’d still have me.

So, instead, I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his, hoping to convey all of the feelings I couldn’t yet speak aloud.

He was my best friend. He was my rock. There was no me without him. My hands cupped both sides of his face while his arms circled me, and the kiss we shared bloomed more light in my chest than anything I had ever fantasized about with Max.

This was a kiss full of love, life, dreams, and a future.

It was slow and gentle and everything we needed as tears wet both of our cheeks. It left me smoldering and angsty and longing for more.

Finally, when his breathing labored and his muscles tensed underneath me, I broke away. Willow would murder me herself if we made out, and I killed him after all that work she did.

I leaned my forehead against his. “One breath at a time.”

We weren’t close to being healed, but we had a path.

“You don’t have to shoulder your pain alone,” he murmured. “You never did. Rely on me, like you always have, and together we’ll heal. We’ll rebuild something stronger and more successful than you could ever fucking dream.”

“Together.”

“Always.” He pressed his lips against my fingers. The bags under his eyes were back with a vengeance, and despite his passionate kiss, it was obvious he was so exhausted he was barely hanging on.

“Now, you need to rest,” I said, giving him one more slow, grateful kiss. I leaned over the bed to grab my tablet from the nightstand. “I have work to do.”

He reluctantly settled back into the bed, enveloped in a cocoon of pillows. “What are you going to do?”

“Make a plan,” I smiled. “Go to sleep, Caspian.”

He yawned. “You never could sit still.”

“Never.” I kissed his cheek as his eyes fluttered closed.

There was too much energy buzzing in my body to rest. Not when the rest of my father’s files were on this tablet.

I didn’t need answers anymore. I had more than enough. But I needed information and hoped my father’s files would help me find it.

40

OBI

As soon as I stepped inside the penthouse, the feeling ofrightnesshit me square in the stomach. The energy of this apartment was different. There was pain, yes, but hope also filled these rooms in ways that had never happened before

I’d owned this building and this penthouse for over five years, and it had never truly been a home. It was a place for us to stay and live. It was a safe, hidden refuge. My brothers were comfortable here. But it had never truly felt like a home.

Tonight, everything was different.

It had to be her. Evidence of her was all over the place, and I smiled. A backpack I didn’t recognize hung by the front door. Women’s shoes were tucked into the shoe rack. Random half-empty cups were scattered around the living room and kitchen.

Despite that, it was eerily quiet. I had expected to see her and had almost been nervous to open the front door and come face to face for the first time, but no one had greeted me. The hallway was brightly lit, yet all the bedroom doors were closed.

I set my bags down in my room before heading to the kitchen, where I found Ryuji pacing circles around the kitchen island. My brother and oldest friend had anguish painted on his face.

“Ryuji?”

He snapped to me, hand reaching for a knife like he hadn’t even heard me come in. I blinked. That was not good.

“Obi,” he responded and paused. “You’re back.”

“What’s happened?” That unwelcome anxiety, which had been far more common an occurrence in these last few weeks, returned.