Page 140 of Ignite

“Yeah, busy day tomorrow.”

“You’ll be amazing, I’m sure. When is the championship fight lined up for?”

“My promotion team is just ironing out the details. Probably in a few months, so I have time.”

“Nice. I can’t wait to see you win that.”

“Yeah. The first legal thing I’ve done in my life.”

“Conan! Seriously?”

“Probably. I’m a naughty boy, Hallie. You sure you can cope?”

I roll my eyes.

“I can handle you, don’t worry.”

“Good. Now you need to get some sleep, you’ve got an early shift, right?”

I blink, feeling the blush spread up my cheeks.

“You think you can order me around, beastie? Hmm?”

“Don’t think so, know so. But it goes both ways.”

I tap my finger against my lips.

“I order you to come back home and snuggle up in bed with me,” I tell him.

“Cute. And I wish I could. It won’t be long. Only a few more days. I’ll have a fun date planned the second I step foot back in Pennsylvania.”

“Hmm. I might be busy that day,” I tease.

“I don’t care. I’ll just steal you from wherever you are and take you on the date anyway. I need my fix of Hallie the second I’m home.”

“I’m joking. I can’t wait.”

“Night, trouble. Sweet dreams, and say hello to Bertie for me.”

I sit up, and Bertie whips his head up to me.

“Will do. Night, night, beastie.”

When the call ends, I tap the bed and Bertie snuggles up beside me. I drift off into a peaceful slumber.

For once, everything is going okay.

Chapter 48

CONAN

Iknock on Finn’s door, and I’m nervous—that sweaty palm kind of nervous. I’ve never been here in the past five years.

It’s a no-go area. Probably for my own sanity. It’s pretty damn clear that my brother is psychotic, I just don’t necessarily need to witness it with my own eyes.

I know it’s a place he built for when he was training to be a surgeon. But I also know it’s now where he hosts his Decadence Trials.

Me and Declan always joke that it’s where he holds medical experiments on his torture victims. Now standing in front of the secured metal door, it kinda feels like I wasn’t wrong.