Page 7 of The Mourning Throne
And he couldn’t ask. Morgan didn’t give answers. Not unless hewantedto. And even then, the truth came dressed in something else. Cold, clipped sentences that always felt like they weremeantto piss Lex off.
That’s when it stopped being a game.
That’s when the jealousy sank in, teeth first.
That was when he decided he wasn’t going to wait for permission anymore.
He walked right into the main bedroom one morning, looked Kate in the eye, and said, “This ismy room. You can sleep somewhere else.”
She just stared, shrugged, and walked out.
That? That was thestrangestfucking thing Kate had ever done.
He expected more of an argument. Yelling. Screaming.
Something.
But Morgan and Kate had always been off.
The front door downstairs shut, and it was like all the air rushed out of the room.
Lex almost watched Morgan deflate. The laughter stopped. Immediately.
Kate’s knock on the open door was too soft.
“I brought home dinner,” she said. “If you both feel like eating in the dining room with me.”
Lex’s stomach growled.
“That sounds amazing. Thanks. Did you uh, did you have fun shopping?”
“I did! I was able to spend time with Max and Miriam. Finally.”
Lex nodded like he had any clue who the hell that was. He caught her eyes skimming over Morgan’s open suitcase.
“Business trip?” she asked.
Morgan didn’t even look over. “London.”
“Please try not to do something you’ll regret while there.”
“You mean don’t act stupid?” Lex laughed. “Spicy, especially coming from you.”
The suitcase hit the bed with a muffledthud. Lex barely had time to turn his head before catching Morgan’s nose wrinkling like he’d smelled something rancid.
“That’s not what I—” she started, before Lex was talking again.
“It’s definitely what you meant, Kate—”
“Can youlistento me?” Kate’s voice spiked—sharp, shrill enough to cut off Lex mid-word.
“I’m not asking for information,” she said, quieter now, “because God knows I’m not interested, but whatever happens in London has to stay there. They don’t do long-distance.”
That sounded… really fucking loaded. Like an ominous warning from the crime docs he liked to binge. And from the way Morgan was focused on her, unblinking—
“What aren’t you telling me?” The words catapulted out of Lex’s mouth before he could stop them.
Kate shifted. Then she was doingitagain—that jittery, uncomfortable thing, fingers twitching and moving like they were separate beings. The hairs on the back of Lex’s neck prickled.
