Page 43

The rhythm swallowed me whole as I danced. My body moved almost on its own, and surprisingly, after all those weeks without training, my muscles still remembered every step, every turn, every beat. I kept my eyes closed for most of it. As my arms rose and fell, there was a moment when I actually felt free, maybe even relaxed.

If only it weren’t for the pain .

It clung to me, pulsing through every part of me, refusing to let go, no matter how long I bent and flowed with the rhythm, no matter how lightly my feet left the ground, no matter how deeply I drew breath with each burst of effort, every spin, every leap. Nothing inside me felt light. That old method of mine, shaking off stress through movement, completely failed me this time.

So the dance quickly turned stiff.

Just a series of memorized moves, or a mess of random motion that brought almost no pleasure, just drained me and made the ache worse.

Eventually, I dropped to my knees on the wooden deck.

The sun hung high overhead. Here, February was surprisingly warm. I was wearing a plain T-shirt, and it was enough. Unimaginable back on the island.

I let out a sigh and looked down at my hands resting on my knees. It took me a moment before I finally raised my head, and saw Blue, lounging in his usual spot. To my amazement, he wasn’t buried in his tablet this time. He was watching me, directly, with a look I couldn’t quite read.

It felt weird to be so shut down from sensing other people’s emotions.

Oh, how I missed that connection with Winter, the way I could practically read his mind. Now, everyone felt flat, like paper hiding a second, secret page I couldn’t reach.

In the background, maybe thirty feet behind Blue near the glass entrance to the penthouse, I spotted Gabriel, Blue’s ever-present bodyguard, leaning against the wall, eyes locked on my uncle. That guy never strayed far, always hovering, always watching. It was kind of annoying. And creepy. He just stared at Blue like some weird robot.

I stretched, wincing slightly as my left shoulder twinged. Probably strained a ligament lifting that damned rock on the island.

With a reluctant grunt, I stood up and made my way to my lounge chair, flopping down and grabbing a bottle of mineral water.

"Shitty. Just… everything is really fucking shitty," I muttered in my best attempt at deep philosophy.

"That’s how it goes when you’re in love and have no idea what the hell to do about it," Blue replied, with this unnecessary, smug little tone, like he knew better. As if. What did he even know about being in love?

"He doesn’t want anything to do with me…" I whispered, taking a big sip from the bottle.

"Well, I’m not in his head, and neither are you. So without you both talking, there’s no way to know if that’s true."

Blue leaned back against the headrest, his sapphire eyes drifting toward the sky, where a few soft clouds were lazily passing. His gaze was almost dreamy.

Lately, he actually seemed to be in a good mood, for him, anyway. I wondered if it was because I’d survived. Blue was the kind of person who buried his feelings deep. I’d had to settle for that one awkward hug at the airport.

Or maybe there was another reason he was so chill these days. Shame I couldn’t read him. His light eyes, always unreadable behind those damn digital glasses, stayed focused on the sky, unfazed.

"But I do know one thing," he added. "Maybe you shouldn’t be dancing like a maniac in your current state."

Pfft. I sighed hard. "Nothing’s confirmed yet. Don’t call it a current state . I don’t wanna get my hopes up."

Blue’s eyes widened in disbelief. "You haven’t even gotten checked? I told you like five times to go get a damn test!"

I frowned. "Gimme a break. I’m a little scared to know the result. I don’t know what happens next. I don’t know how he’ll react."

"All you have to do is just ask him."

"He may get angry…"

The irritation rolling off him was intense. Classic Blue.

"Seriously? So you’re a coward after all?" He folded his arms across his chest and jutted his chin out a bit.

"Hey!" I snapped. "Could you maybe get off my case and be a little nicer? I deserve some slack—I literally survived a plane crash. A crash where you were the one who was technically supposed to die, by the way." I gave him a look.

Blue paused. Then said, "Detective Arnold thinks the motives behind planting that bomb might be… more complicated than everyone assumed."

My mouth fell open.

"Did you know that Winter’s youngest brother, Sun, was held prisoner by Anzo Ferro? For two months. From late June to early September. He was basically a sex slave."

I just stared at him, shocked.

"What the fuck?"

"It’s a bit of a stretch, I know," Blue went on, "but Detective Arnold thinks the bombing could’ve been a two-for-one. A hit on me, and indirectly, revenge on Sun, by killing his brother. The mafia often kills family members to instill more fear in their enemies."

"A bit far-fetched. But it’s seriously weird that Winter’s brother was Ferro’s prisoner! I had no idea. This world is too fucking small."

"Yeah. The Nolans kept it quiet, I think to protect Sun. I mean, he wasn’t the only one being held there. Also, Anzo Ferro’s husband escaped. He was treated awfully by Anzo… his name is Summer."

"Wait! Summer? As in, the guy who supposedly helped save us from the crash?"

"Yes. He lives at the Nolans’ residence."

"He did that ‘telekinetic magic’ thing on us with Winter’s other brother, Snow…"

"Exactly. It’s all connected. The bomb attempt on me, the one that happened at the matchmaking agency back in September, that’s what kicked off everything. A few days later, the FBI raided Ferro’s fortified headquarters—ironically named The Sun . That same day, five people escaped the property: one of Ferro’s employees, Sun, and Anzo’s husband, Summer. Two of Anzo’s adopted sons-slash-nephews got out too. Summer ended up living with Winter’s parents, they gave him a safe place to recover. That much I found out from talking to Winter’s dad, Lake Nolan, while we were waiting for clearance to launch the rescue op to the Kuril Islands."

Blue said it in a pretty light tone, like it was no big deal, but for me, it was quite the news, hard to believe. I was digesting the info for a while, piecing it together in my head.

"So it really seems like it’s all connected. The bombings… and Winter’s family?"

"Yes, it’s insane. A miracle, they even made it out of The Sun fortress. People who go in there rarely reemerge. Detective Arnold says Anzo Ferro’s first husband, Moon Larsen, went missing two years ago. No one knows what happened to him. Summer is actually his brother."

"Whoa. That’s twisted. Was it Summer who leaked the bomb plot? Someone must’ve given the police that recording detailing the bomb attack on you."

"No clue. Whoever it was, he’s the reason Anzo got caught."

"What about the bomb on the plane—no leaks in that case?"

"No, it was done really well. No traces. Arnold told me there’s a slight possibility it might not even be Ferro’s anymore, it could be NotFromHere terrorists. But the investigation is still ongoing."

Blue tilted his head slightly, eyeing me with sharp attention.

"And what’s with all the sudden curiosity about my mafia problems, huh? Nice move, changing the subject."

I pouted. "I’ve got a right to be curious. Sun is Winter’s brother. I had no idea he was a prisoner of the guy who… tried to kill you. That’s a hell of a coincidence."

"True. But… I still haven’t heard a damn word from you about the test. Do I need to send Gabriel to pick one up?"

"Fuck, no! I’ll take care of it myself," I muttered, sipping more water. "By the way, he would probably refuse to leave you even for a minute."

Something flickered across Blue’s face, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he repeated,

"You need to do the test, Sariel."

"You’re awfully pushy today," I growled.

Blue stared at me for a moment.

"What really happened on that island, Sariel?" he asked more softly than usual. "Tell me the truth."

I closed my eyes. "You can read it in my interview with Uncle Victor, it came out today."

"I want the uncensored version."

"Hunger happened! Helplessness. Despair. And… him. He gave everything to find food for me. He saved my life. Even when he could barely walk, he crossed to the other side of the island to get to me. Without him, I wouldn’t be here."

"There was more than that. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be in this… situation. You obviously had sex."

I rolled my eyes.

"Please, don’t start this topic…"

But Blue kept going.

"You left our little V-club. Not a virgin anymore."

I made a face but didn’t answer. I wasn’t eager to spill my guts.

Blue slowly turned his head to the sky. Then, almost imperceptibly, his eyes shifted toward Gabriel before snapping back to me.

"So… how was the sex? Really that divine, or is it just a lot of hype?"

I hesitated, but eventually muttered, "I don’t know how it is with anyone else, but with him… it was divine."

"It wasn’t just sex for you, Sariel?"

"No."

"Maybe you shouldn’t wait any longer, Sariel. You know how he must feel now?"

"Do I? He didn’t answer when I called out to him."

"Mind you, that was right after a conversation with a bunch of shrinks sent by my darling brother, no less. They probably told him all the stuff Jacob wanted to say himself, but instead he sent in the vanguard."

"They probably did."

We were quiet for a while. I lowered my eyes to my hands. Every cell of my body was pulsing in pain, and it was steadily growing.

"Winter’s energy changed after the conversation, I could sense it. They filled his head with enough doubt to make him question… us."

Blue gave a light shrug. "I’d bet he’s just afraid of pissing off Jacob. His job depends on him."

"Or maybe I’m just not worth the risk of getting fired to him," I finally said. "The job at DevApp is more important?"

"Fire the parent of his grandchild? Jacob’s strict, yeah, but he’s not a monster, Sariel. I’ve known him a bit longer than you."

"Grandchild? We’ll see about that. First, you need to draw my blood."

"Uhh… what?"

"The pain, Blue. I want to know if this pain I’ve been feeling, this constant, growing ache, has a specific cause. Because I’m almost sure it does. And if I’m right, it might just kill two birds with one stone. Including my father problem." I grinned, all mischief.

No one had ever looked at me with more shock than Blue did in that moment.