Page 103 of Freestyle
But he doesn’t mean Rowyn the way I do. He means bloodlines. Honor. Territory.
“She’s not a pawn,” I say. “She’s not leverage.”
“She’s family,” he replies, cool and even. “And I take care of family.”
There’s silence again, heavier this time.
I glanceback toward the room. Through the sliver of the open door, I see the warm spill of light, the curve of her blanket, the shadow of Lyndsy sitting on the edge of the bed. My chest aches.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” I murmur. “Even if… even if I never wanted this part of it. The cleanup. The legacy. I—”
“You’re not ready,” he cuts in. Not harsh, just matter-of-fact. “But you will be. You made a decision that night. You protected her. You called me. That’s not weakness, son. That’s command.”
I let the words settle. They feel like iron. Heavy. Final.
“I didn’t do it for power,” I say.
He hums. “Good. Power built on love lasts longer than fear.”
That silences me.
I never thought I’d hear that from him.
“Get some rest,” he adds. “And Gray?”
“Yeah?”
“You did right. Just don’t make a habit of needing my kind of help.”
The line goes dead.
I stare at the phone in my hand for a beat longer, then slide it back into my pocket.
I lean back against the wall just outside Rowyn’s door, sliding down until I’m sitting on the floor with my kneespulled tight to my chest, the phone still cooling in my palm like a dead weight.
My dad’s words linger in my ears, but they’re drowned out by something louder, something closer.
The memory of Phoenix’s mouth against mine.
It wasn’t planned, wasn’t rehearsed. It justwas. Raw, impulsive and real in a way I hadn’t let myself believe existed.
It rattled me.
Not because I didn’t want it. God, Iwantedit. I just didn’t know I was allowed to. Not after a lifetime of expectations, of labels, of straight lines I thought I had to color inside.
But that kiss…
It shattered all of that, and now I don’t know what to do with what’s left.
There’s Rowyn, asleep just feet away, patched together with IVs and courage, and the kind of softness that makes youhope. There’s Nix, Phoenix, who’s always been chaos wrapped in charm, who’s cut through me in a thousand different ways over the years without either of us naming it.
And now he knows.
Knows I see him.
Knows Iwanthim.
And worse, or better, he kissed me back like he’d been waiting forever for permission.
