Page 67 of Cold Heir

“Well, kid, you’ve officially made my night,” Liv laughed. “Since you returned, I’ve been hoping you’d finally see it.”

My brow quirked as I rested on the edge of my bed. “Hoping I’d see what?”

“That things are finally working out. Forallof us,” she insisted. “We’ve never been more well-cared for, have never had such an overflow of food and suppliesever.And most of all, you’re finally not having to put your life on the line to make it all happen.”

When she brought that up then, I bit down on my lip. It would have felt like a lie to let the conversation end there, without sharing the details of the night.

“Actually,” I forced out, “that might not be entirely true.”

With the hard breath she let out, I imagined her rolling her eyes. “What did you do?”

I glanced toward the window when a sudden gust of wind blew in, causing my candle to flicker.

“I broke into the Tine Facility again, but I wasn’t alone,” I rushed to add, hoping that would slow her anger a bit. “Silas was with me.”

The questions that statement raised for her could be sensed even through the phone, which made me laugh a bit.

“Does he know?”

“You mean does he know who I am?” I asked. “No, but … on some level, I kind of think he has to knowsomething.”

Her silence persisted on the other end.

“Cori, maybe it’s time you put a little more trust in them. From what I’ve seen, they’re far more openminded than any of us gave them credit for. And with how crazy they all seem about you, I doubt there’s anything you could tell them that would change their minds.”

It warmed my heart to hear her say that, but it was too big of a risk.

“So, per your suggestion, I’ll just waltz downstairs with a giant ‘B’ on my chest for Blackbird and say‘Hey, guys! Guess what?’Because that’lldefinitelygo over well,” I chuckled.

“Okay, make fun of me for thinking love fixes everything,” she laughed, “but mark my words; when they find out, and nothing changes, you’ll be kicking yourself for keeping this secret for so long.”

She seemed so certain of that, I nearly believed her.

“Perhaps,” I concluded. As soon as the word left my mouth, she yawned and so did I, which meant it was time webothturned in for the night.

“Yes, perhaps,” she echoed whimsically.

I missed her and the others already, which was probably why a thought popped into my head. “I’m gonna stop by tomorrow,” I announced. “I’m sure one of the guys will drive me to the bridge, and I’ll walk the rest of the way from there.”

“We’ll meet you!” she practically yelled, letting me know I was missed, too. “Just give me about an hour’s notice before you head out.”

Smiling, I nodded as if she were sitting there with me.

“It’s a date.”

“See you then,” she agreed before ending the call.

I was still on a high. Not even laying eyes on that freakin’ black key brought down my mood. And this, like everything else, would work itself out sooner or later.

I believed that with all my heart.

Before getting too tired and passing out where I sat, I stood again, walking toward the bathroom. I turned on the faucet and removed my toothbrush and toothpaste from the medicine cabinet. The taste of mint was pleasant, but also reminded me of … he-who-shall-remain-nameless.

He’d really done a number on me if I couldn’t even practice basic hygiene without having him overtake my thoughts.

I leaned down to spit into the sink, taking a few swigs of water to rinse my mouth, and then turned off the water before standing straight again.

Terror spread within me like a wildfire when my eyes landed on the mirror.

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