Page 133 of The Price of Forever

“Looks nice,” I said, sinking into the chair facing his desk. “Good for you.”

“Thanks.” His smile was genuine. “How’s the new place?”

“Good. It’s coming along.” I intertwined my fingers in my lap, focusing on my nail beds as I spoke.

“I’d like to see it sometime,” he said.

I pursed my lips together. “Could have fooled me. You haven’t even done a security check on it.”

“I have,” he answered coolly. “I couldn’t break in.”

I turned this information over in my head. So he’d visited the apartment—without telling me. Without asking to come up. Without even wanting to see me. Just further proof of how distant we’d become. My chest cracked in two, though I wasn’t sure how to explain it to him.

“Well, let’s see this recording equipment,” I said suddenly, shifting forward. I needed to focus on anything other than this overbearing elephant in the room. Seven refusing to acknowledge how drastically things had changed only made me more upset, and I wanted to be out of this place as quickly as possible.

He brought out a small box which contained an assortment of threads and cords that looked like anything but recording devices. He picked up a small capsule, the size of a paperclip.

“These are the ones Federico recommends most,” he said, turning it back and forth between his fingers. “You could even sew them into your top, he said. They’re voice activated, last for up to ten hours on a full charge, and can recharge completely in an hour. Plus, it can store up to ninety hours of recordings.”

“Wow,” I murmured, unable to rip my eyes from the tiny thing. “That would be really easy to hide.”

“There are others.” He pulled out something that looked like a necklace. “Each strip on this is a recording device, but the quality isn’t as good as the first one. It’s an option depending on your costume for the night.”

The mention of my costume made me think back to when he’d ripped my dress off after our last outing, since he couldn’t stand the fact that it was associated with Eli. We’d gone from fucking on his windowsill to this? I worried at my lip.

“Okay,” I said.

Silence thumped between us. Seven watched me curiously, his face creasing with tenderness. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

I nodded without a second of hesitation. “I do. I want to make a difference in somebody’s life. Three people’s lives, actually. No, even more, because if we can pull this off, it’ll affect more than just Axel, Damian, and Trace. My brothers have been working their whole lives in honor of me and Kaylee. It’s time somebody tried to honor them.”

His lips curled into a small smile. For how mad I was at him, I could tell he was proud of me. Especially compared to where we’d started.

“Even if this fails,” I went on, “at least I tried. That’s all I can do.”

“But what if it does fail?” Seven narrowed his eyes. “If Eli finds out and turns on you? He was violent with Cora.”

His question was the uncomfortable beast lurking at the back of the whole thing. I didn’t have a good answer for him. It was a possibility, but one I was willing to confront.

“I guess I’ll just have to figure it out when I’m there,” I said softly. “When we’re there. Because you’ll be there with me, after all.”

His chair creaked as his gaze dropped to the desk. An expectant pause filled the air.

“Jordan—” he started.

Dread coated my insides. I already knew he was preparing himself to deliver some bad news, though I couldn’t say how. “What?”

“This is something else we need to discuss.” His throat bobbed, and for the first time, I sensed real nervousness pouring from him. “I’ve decided to excuse myself from your full-time protection. Chico will be your regular guard from now on.”

I nibbled on the inside of my lip, avoiding his gaze as his words cycled through me.

“To be honest, I should have excused myself a long time ago,” he went on. “Based on how things progressed between us. This decision has been a long time coming. We crossed some lines. Too many lines. And it just…that’s not how I operate.”

I studied the contours of my hands, my nails, the bone in my wrist. Anything to avoid looking at him.

“Chico will handle daily, business-as-usual stuff,” Seven added. “For any time you’re with Eli, Trojan will accompany you. He’s the only person I’d trust in an environment like that. Honestly, he’s even better than me.”

I mulled over his words for a few moments, focusing all my energy on appearing unaffected. Inside, though, everything was crumbling to dust. When I finally lifted my head, I still couldn’t look him in the eye.

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