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“Connects are unique for many reasons, the most important of which is the fact that we’re unique even amongst each other. While marks like my snake aren’t rare, they aren’t exactly common for my people either.” He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and presented his right forearm.

The snake shifted down from beneath the fabric and into view, then stopped in place. As soon as it did, it appeared like any other tattoo would, just with a lot of detail in each individual pearlescent scale.

“What is it?” Cal asked, unable to mask his curiosity.

“Some of us are born with more energy than we can handle. While it’s true the energy fluctuates and eventually burns through our physical body with age, some of us end up with too much from the get-go. We’re taught to turn that energy into a source that can be moved, helping to expend it.”

“That…doesn’t make any sense.” Maybe he was too dumb to follow. “Whatever. So is it a part of your or not?”

“It doesn’t have a mind of its own, if that’s what you’re asking.

I can control it, but it also has its own autonomy.

As it moves, it helps shift the energy built up within me.

Energy feeds and controls it. Think of it like a motor.

You need energy to keep it running. It’s the same concept, only my purpose isn’t to keep the snake going, but to keep the energy burning.

It’s good you aren’t afraid. You may need to borrow him for a bit. ”

Calix pulled away. “What?”

“Aodhan needed to,” he explained. “Because he isn’t a Connect, the influx of energy after we bonded was too much for him to handle on his own. This helped. You may not have the same experience, you’re a Third, not a Second, so there are two of us to help you manage, but—”

“I was always told the position of Third was the most coveted,” he blurted, internally kicking himself for it afterward.

A pleased twinkle entered Titus’s gaze. “That’s right.”

“And Aodhan is okay with that?”

“He’s not going to try to kill you again.

He’s past that urge. And, no, Aodhan doesn’t care that he’s a Second and not a Third.

The Third is the most coveted because, as I just mentioned, they’re typically cared for more.

I can take a Second on my own, but a Third?

A Third must be agreed upon by both of us.

Aodhan has nothing to be jealous of. Neither do you. ”

“I’m not. And I’m still not agreeing to anything.”

Titus hummed noncommittally and carefully rolled his sleeve back down. “Is there anything else you’d like to ask me?”

He wanted to know if this was real or some elaborate hoax. Wanted to know why they’d choose him out of everyone. But he couldn’t bring himself to ask either of those things, too fearful of the answers.

Because as fucked up as it was, he could get used to parts of this.

The parts where he was fed and bathed and cared for?

Yeah, those parts didn’t entirely suck, and they weren’t experiences he’d ever had with anyone else.

Cal did want to belong somewhere. He’d just never pictured that somewhere being the house of two murderers.

He’d been trying to get away from his darker nature, not enter a place where it would be nurtured.

Even if that meant he also started despising himself and who he was at his core being a little less.

“What makes you so sure I’ll end up accepting?” he ended up asking. “I didn’t even know you liked me before this.”

“If I didn’t like you, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Obviously.”

“I mean on this planet, Calix.”

“How do your abilities work?”

Titus tilted his head, watching him closely. “Still running, little monster?”

He’d been the one saying Cal wasn’t ready for that conversation not too long ago, but he didn’t bother pointing it out.

“What can I say,” he drawled, knowing exactly what the director was referring to and opting to just be honest, “it’s what I’m best at.”

“Aodhan says you’re best at taking cock.” Titus smirked when that had Cal coughing around his last bite of pizza. “Here.” He picked up the can of soda nearby and popped the top for him before holding it out.

Calix chugged a third of the contents and then frowned at the brand name. “This is the same one you bought me in the hospital cafeteria.”

“It’s my favorite. It has vitamin C, so you can even pretend that it’s not entirely bad for you. There’s another thing you’re good at . Pretending .”

Cal thought about his confession that he’d changed the items in his hotel room. The shampoo and conditioner brands in the bathroom here were the same as the ones he’d had in his hotel. This soda had been stocked in the hotel minibar. His gaze dropped down to the silk pajamas he was wearing.

“Titus,” he gave the other man a suspicious look, “what are you sleeping in?”

“Do you not like it?” The director reached out and undid the top button, careful not to allow them to touch skin to skin. “I think you look fantastic.”

“Answer me or I’ll stop talking to you.”

He chuckled. “You’re the one who wants to keep me talking. You're afraid if you don’t keep me distracted, I’ll try something or put you back on the hook. You can relax. I’m not planning on doing either of those things. I won’t touch you tonight, Calix. You’re safe.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re an adrenaline junky and making you sit here is the least exciting thing in the world.”

“I’m not—”

“No?” He quirked a dark brow. “Should I read what your past partners have all said about you? The I.P.F. let you quit without much argument because everyone knew one day you’d either get yourself or an innocent bystander killed.”

Calix…couldn’t really say that wasn’t true. He’d heard it a thousand times, that he was reckless, that he didn’t have any self-preservation. That he leapt into danger without thinking.

“I didn’t do anything stupid this time,” he felt the need to clarify, though why he bothered was beyond him.

Titus found it ridiculous as well, scoffing at him. “Detective, you chased me into the woods your very first day on the job, and then you kept our interaction to yourself and didn’t report me or inform your team. Don’t even get me started on how you handled the rest of the case.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Your heart wasn’t in it,” he leaned closer, voice deepening as he spoke. “You know it. I know it. Aodhan knows it too. Want to tell me why that could be?’

Calix turned his head away.

“Fine, I’ll tell you. It’s because a part of you realized the truth.”

“Not true.”

“Aodhan and I both attended his brother’s wedding. We’re both medically trained and could easily separate a man’s head from his body. Aodhan brought you to a party where you saw a man cut in half, and every time you were confronted by me, you got a bad feeling.”

“You made me have the bad feeling,” Calix snapped. “I don’t want to discuss how it’s likely you also made Rhett act crazy in your office, or about how it’s likely you and Aodhan framed him for the murders you committed. Or—”

“How we probably did all of that to get you here?”

“Don’t.”

“Why not? It’s already out there. We might as well finish the thought. You’ve known the truth for a while now.”

“I have not!” Calix shot to his feet, the chair falling to the carpet, making a soft thumping sound. “I didn’t know shit until you shot a cop and knocked me out in your kitchen! If I had, I would have—”

“Arrested us?” Titus stood as well, slowly, and though he didn’t bridge the gap between them, the menacing air around him altered enough it could be felt.

“Stop it.” He retreated a full step, not even caring about his pride. “Just let me feel my own emotions.”

“Your own emotions are liars.” The director slid his hands into his front pockets, but instead of feeling comforted by the fact he didn’t plan to reach out, Cal felt even more nervous. “Why didn’t you tell Bruce about Aodhan’s connection to the party?”

“Bruce knew about the party.”

“He didn’t know what it really was.”

“Did you kill him because he found out?” Calix tossed up a palm immediately and shook his head. “Wait. Don’t answer that.”

That would ruin everything.

Which meant he should want him to answer. Should want to hear straight from the director’s mouth that they had been responsible, that way this stupid, tiny flame kindling in his chest toward them could be snuffed out before—

“I didn’t,” Titus said. “Neither did Aodhan. Do you believe me?”

“No.” They’d lied about everything else to trap him here, why wouldn’t they lie about this?

“Why would we want to kill him? You cared for him.”

“Maybe you had your reasons, or maybe it was an accident. It doesn’t matter. What matters is he’s dead. What matters is you both messed up my investigation and framed an innocent man.” He pursed his lips. “No, two innocent people. Was Amory involved at all? Did you kill her for fun?”

“Do you feel bad because you think it’s partly your fault that they’re dead?

” Titus hypothesized. “If you’d reported what had actually happened at the party, Bruce might have investigated and realized Aodhan has more involvement with criminal organizations than the good chief would have ever guessed. He really liked Aodhan.”

“I know he did.” That was half the reason Calix had trusted the doctor. He rubbed at his temple and admitted, “I’m confused. I don’t know how much of this is your suggestion and how much of it is true. Stop messing with my emotions and let me think.”

“I gave you a mild sense of foreboding so you wouldn’t get any bright ideas about attacking me,” Titus said. “You’re unchained. You could try it. But that was all I did.”

“Liar. I feel…” He pressed a hand against the center of his chest, his heart beating wildly, his breathing growing more frantic with every breath, “…I…”

“You’re having a panic attack,” Titus informed him, casually, like it was no big deal. “It was too soon for this conversation. You aren’t ready to face the truth.”

“Which is?”

“We covered our tracks. We had alibis for the wedding and for all the times of the murders. You could sense something was off, but there was no way for you to really know that it was Aodhan you were after, Calix.” He sighed when Cal merely glared.

“I’m saying you’re being too hard on yourself.

Yes, it seems obvious now, but two weeks ago, with the information you had?

” He shrugged. “You weren’t the only one working the case.

No one else suspected my little killer either. ”

“Get out.”

Calix didn’t want to hear this because what type of person did that make him?

He’d slept with Aodhan despite his suspicions, despite all the signs that pointed to the doctor's potential involvement. Bruce had said Aodhan was clear. That Titus was clear. Cal could have done some digging on his own after the party, but he’d chosen to keep hush-hush about the whole ordeal instead.

Even now, having put the pieces together and proven his instincts about this case had been correct, he wasn’t willing to accept it.

He wasn’t willing to accept the fact that, according to them, Titus and Aodhan had set this whole thing up from the start. They’d left a string of bodies in their wake for the sole purpose of getting Calix to return to Emergence where they could get him.

“No one’s ever done this much for you,” Titus’s voice was sultry, coaxing.

Like the devil whispering in his ear, tempting him.

“You’re overwhelmed by it all,” he continued. “Don’t think about this morally, Azi. Think about this emotionally.”

“Get out.”

Titus watched him for a moment and then nodded. “There’s a chain under the bed. Lock it around your left ankle.”

Calix hesitated.

“I’ll leave as soon as it’s done.”

If it meant getting to be alone, fine.

Cal stormed over to the bed, dropping down to search beneath it.

The chain was there, with one cuff attached to a long length of golden links that were drilled directly into the floor beneath the large piece of furniture.

He pulled it out and then sat, snapping the cuff around his ankle before his nerves could get the best of him again.

He wanted to say something witty and cruel, some biting remark that would help get across how frustrated he currently felt, but nothing came to mind, and he was too afraid of opening his mouth and saying the wrong thing, opting to glare instead.

Satisfied his order had been followed, Titus moved to the door, taking the empty food box with him.

“Try to get some sleep, Azi.” The director pulled the door shut behind him.

It was a few minutes later when Cal realized he’d carried the half-empty soda can to the bed with him.

He chucked it at the closed door and watched the bubbly blue liquid seep into and stain the carpet, mildly comforted that he could ruin something of Titus’s.

The same way Titus was ruining him.