Page 132 of Fractured Loyalties
“No.”
His jaw clenches. “They’re escalating.”
“Feels more like circling.”
Elias leans against the counter. Every inch of him controlled. But the knuckles on his coffee mug are pale.
“I can trace it,” he says.
I shake my head. “That’s what they want.”
He narrows his eyes. “You think it’s bait.”
“No. I think it’s a mirror. They’re not asking for a reply. They’re checking for movement. For fear.”
He doesn’t argue.
Because he knows I’m right.
“I want to dig through the node logs again,” he says. “See if they bounced through anything we missed. Something domestic. Quiet.”
“I want to go back to my apartment.”
His reaction is immediate. Sharp. “No.”
“Just to check. Something’s off about yesterday. Something doesn’t line up.”
“We’ll send Lydia.”
“I need to see it myself.”
Elias’s eyes harden. Not in anger. In calculation.
“You don’t trust me to see it for you?” he asks.
“I don’t trust what you won’t tell me.”
That lands.
He sets his cup down, too gentle.
“Mara—”
“I know you think you’re protecting me by keeping me on the sidelines. But I’m not on the bench anymore. I’m in the game.”
He takes a step forward. I don’t move.
“I don’t want to watch you get ripped open,” he says. Quiet. Flat. “Not because of me. Not even because of anything at all.”
“Then don’t make me do it alone.”
The silence between us is heavy. Almost holy.
Then his voice, quieter than it should be: “We go together. That’s the deal.”
“Fine.”
His hand brushes mine, not by accident.
