Page 118 of The Mourning Throne
Fragmented sentences? Check.
Turns out Ollie had multiple uses.
Still nothing.
But there was noothersound either. No ice cubes clinking. No alcohol pouring.
Good. That meant Morgan was listening.
“I—I wanna go home, Morgan…”
Oh. Oh, that one worked.
Morgan was closer now. Lex couldfeelit. The shift in the air. That quiet pressure he always carried when he hovered. His fingers brushed the top of Lex’s head.
Lex didn’t look, even if he wanted to. He let his breathing hitch just once. Swallowed hard enough to be heard.
“I messed it up. I—I fucked everything up, didn’t I?”
Morgan crouched in front of him.
Lex didn’t meet his eyes.
If Morgan saw the seams too early? If the hook didn’t sink injust right?
Where were thefucking tears? The one time hewantedto cry, he couldn’t.
“We’ll go home,” Morgan said quietly. His hand landed on Lex’s thigh, squeezed. “You’re alright.”
He leaned into the touch, like it was keeping him grounded. Like Morgan’s palm was the only thing holding his bones together. And when Morgan reached for him, just slightly, like he might pull Lex into his arms—
Lex let him.
Sagging against Morgan’s chest, he gripped the bent card with both hands again. Buried his face against the warm cotton of Morgan’s shirt.
Morgan didn’t let go.
His arms wrapped around Lex, tight enough to crack his back, and Lex felt it again—that gap in the armor. That hint of gentleness Morgan never said out loud.
Like Lex was actually worth protecting.
Step one? Check.
Chapter 21
Part Four
Lex was doing it again.
The same thing he’d done outside the club—white-faced, trembling violently.
Even now, Morgan had to brace an arm around his waist just to get him into the car. There wasn’t any weight to him: limp, yet vibrating, panic given shape.
Morgan had booked the first flight he could find.
Late tonight.
They had hours to kill, and Morgan had an eternity to keep Lex in one piece.
