Page 62 of Without a Trace
And I didn’t know how much longer I could hold this together.
They trusted me to hold this line. But my grip was failing. And when it snapped—she'd be the one bleeding for it.
Alden
The second Zeke walked out, the air changed.
He didn’t slam the door, didn’t even raise his voice. But the silence he left was louder than anything he could’ve said.
Trace looked like he was going to be sick.
I stood there, fists clenched. Every part of me screamed to follow him, to rip answers out of him with my bare hands. But I didn’t. I couldn’t stop thinking about the look on Scarlett’s face when that car pulled up. But I knew what came next would matter more.
“She looks good,”he’d said. Like she was an asset. A fucking project. Not a person. Nother.
Rhett shifted in the corner, breaking the tension. “Fucker always knows how to ruin the mood.”
Kane crossed his arms, eyes on the window. “He’ll be back.”
I looked at Trace. “How long?”
Trace didn’t meet my eyes. “Few days. Maybe less.”
I exhaled, tried to keep my voice steady. “And we’re still not telling her?”
He didn’t answer.
“She deserves to know,” I said, stepping closer. “She deserves the truth.”
“She deserves peace,” Trace muttered.
I stared at him. “You think keeping her in the dark is peaceful?”
“She’s not ready,” Trace snapped.
“She’s not safe.”
I hated the way that made his shoulders tense, like the words had landed exactly where they were supposed to. Because I knew the truth. We all did.
“She’s not some girl we picked up to babysit,” I snapped. “She’s the reason all of this is happening. You think hiding it from her is going to make it stop?”
“You think telling her fixes anything?” Trace shot back. “I already almost lost her once. I’m not risking it again.”
Rhett spoke from the side. “So what’s the plan? Hide out until someone else takes the shot?”
“Hold position,” Kane said. “Keep her close.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “She knows somethings off, even if she doesn’t know what. And we’re just standing here, lying to her face, acting like this is some kind of fucked-up vacation.”
Trace stepped forward. “We wait. Until we know more. Until I can look her in the eye and not fucking break.”
He said it like it cost him something. And maybe it did.
Because I knew he loved her.
But I did too.
And I didn’t know how much longer I could keep pretending that wasn’t going to tear everything apart.
