Page 66 of Fractured Loyalties
She softens. “Just...be careful, okay?”
I nod. “I am.”
“Okay.”
She pauses, glances at the desk, then at me. “He looked like he’d burn down a city for you.”
I meet her eyes.
“I know.”
By the time Celeste leaves, the room feels like a held breath.
I check my phone again. Nothing new. Elias is out there somewhere, watching. Probably already rerouting footage, scrubbing data, retracing Lyle Vance’s scent through the city.
I don’t know if that makes me feel safer or more hunted.
There’s a knock at the door again. This one soft. A different rhythm.
I open it.
Alec.
He’s leaning on the frame like he owns it. Like the earlier tension never happened.
“Hey,” he says, smooth. “Didn’t mean to bug you again, just wanted to catch you before lunch.”
I step aside. “Something up?”
“Actually, yeah. We’re having a team dinner tonight. Nothing fancy—just Thai food, a round of beers, low-pressure hang. I thought it might be good for morale.”
I stare at him.
He notices. “You don’t have to say yes. Just...it’d be nice to have you there.”
My gut twists. Something about this timing feels off.
“Who’s going?” I ask.
“Celeste, me, two of the admin girls, maybe Josh from psych. Casual thing. You don’t have to dress up.”
I nod slowly. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
He smiles and steps back. “Cool. Let me know by four?”
I close the door.
I don’t text Elias.
Not yet.
But I can already feel how his body will change the second I tell him.
He won’t like it.
And the problem is—I’m not sure if that will stop me from going, or push me straight toward it.
Chapter 14 – Elias - The Line He Draws
