Page 24 of The Mourning Throne
But that energy? The panicked kind, the overthinking kind—it made people start asking themselves questions. Made them wonder why they said yes. Why they got in the car. Why the street had been so empty.
Thinking was a problem.
Lex twisted in his seat and glanced over his shoulder at Ollie. “You doing good back there?”
Ollie looked up too fast. His eyes too wide.
“Um—yeah. I mean… yeah.” He smiled, but it cracked at the edges. “Just wasn’t expecting to get in a car with strangers tonight.”
“Are we really strangers? Technically, sure. But you can always ask me anything you want. I’m an open book.”
Ollie laughed under his breath. Performative and polite. “Thanks…”
Lex watched his hands. Still twitching.
“Where are we going?” Ollie asked.
“The Armitage,” Morgan said, flatly, from the driver’s seat.
The first words he’d spoken since they got in the car. But the way he said it didn’t leave room for questions.
The silence that followed was colder.
Siren’s sped past, growing fainter as the ambulance turned the corner.
“I don’t think I should…” Ollie’s voice dropped, almost eaten by the car’s rumble. “I don’t want to intrude. You can, um, let me out here.”
“That’s silly. You’re not intruding.” Lex kept his tone friendly. “We wouldn’t have invited you if that’s the case.”
Ollie nodded slowly, but Lex caught it—the telltale shift. The way he leaned toward the door. How his hand crept to the handle, moving like he thought he could be subtle about it.
The sharp, metallicclickof the lock not budging punched too loud.
Ollie’s hand jerked back.
He tried again.
Click.
Still nothing.
A different kind of panic skittered across his face now—sharper, more desperate.
“Um,” Ollie whispered. “I…”
Lex’s smile never left his face. “What’s up, buttercup?”
“I… I think I should go.”
“You want to get out? Right now? In the middle of traffic?”
“Yes.” Ollie nodded. Too fast. Frantic. “I don’t—I’m sorry, I don’t feel right about this.”
Lex leaned in a little, voice dropping. “C’mon, Ollie. Be sensible.”
Ollie flinched at his name.
“Ireallythink I need to leave.”
