Page 78 of Cast in Shadow
I dropped my keys on the table beside the door and sank down onto the soft couch. “Do you want to talk about it?”
We both knew she was in my suite because her nightmares had scared her badly enough that she hadn’t wanted to be alone. The fact that I wasn’t here when she needed me didn’t exactly give me the warm fuzzies, but I wasn’t about to let her shut me out now.
She uncrossed her arms and folded her legs beneath her. “Not really.”
“Was it about Phineas?”
Another half-hearted eye roll. “So what if it was? I’m awake now. I’m not trapped in some shitty room while that asshole…”
I gave her a few seconds to find her voice, but when she didn’t go on, I asked, “While he what?”
Neither she nor Nguyen had completed an incident report on their abduction, and they were both frustratingly tight-lipped about what happened that night. All I knew for sure was that it was bad. Also, when I got my hands on Phineas, I would use every drop of power at my disposal to make him pay for what he did, and I would make damned sure it hurt.
She shook her head, but as she did, she curled in on herself. “It doesn’t matter. There was no permanent damage.”
Maybe not physically, but trauma like that left invisible wounds that would only fester and eat away at her confidence and mental health the longer she ignored them. It didn’t help that she was also a lot like me: stubborn to a fault.
Pushing her too hard wouldn’t help.
“Did you get any sleep?”
She nodded. “A few hours.”
“You want breakfast?” I could order her to lay down and try to get a little more shut eye, but I knew even the blackout shades that kept my suite as dark as night on the brightest day weren’t enough to trick her mind and body into sleeping when the sun was up.
She looked me up and down with a critical eye. “How about I cook while you shower?”
“That bad?” I pulled my shirt up to my nose and sniffed. Emerson’s scent clung to the fabric. It was faint, but it was all I could do not to inhale more deeply. Like a hopeless addict.
I remembered this feeling all too well, like I was spinning out of control.
His pull was so goddamn strong.
“If you can smell him…” Shay let her words trail off.
Point taken. I let my shirt fall back in place. “I’ll be quick.”
When I emerged from my bedroom a short while later, dressed in clean black fatigues with my hair wrapped in a damp bun at the base of my neck, the scent of her homemade egg drop soup was already filling the air. I’d given her a hard time about making it for breakfast the first time she’d done it, but as she’d pointed out, when we tossed in a handful of fried wonton strips, it wasn’t that different from eggs and toast. It also warmed the body in a way the latter never could.
“It smells delicious,” I offered, walking into the kitchen behind her and pulling two big bowls from the cabinet.
“It’s almost ready.” She didn’t look up when she said it. She just kept staring down into the slowly swirling concoction.
I reached around her and shut off the burner, then wrapped my arms around her. “You know I’m here if you want to talk, right?”
Shay nodded silently.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here last night.”
She laid her head back on my shoulder. “I’m not upset about that, Senna. I practically shoved you toward figuring things out with him.” She patted my arm gently, and I released her so she could face me. “I’m glad you went to talk to him. Really.”
And yet, the guilt eating at me didn’t ease in the slightest.
“I’m supposed to meet him tonight, but I can postpone if you want.”
She shook her head. “Not a chance. You’re going.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
