Page 34 of Fractured Loyalties
Three words. Unapologetic. Quietly lethal.
I don’t ask how. I don’t need to. I believe him.
Still, something about his certainty unnerves me.
“You’ve done this before,” I say.
It’s not a question.
He doesn’t lie. “Yes.”
I sip my coffee to keep from asking anything else. Elias watches me over the rim of his mug.
“You’re not scared of me anymore,” he says.
I tilt my head. “No. Not exactly.”
“What changed?”
“You told me the truth,” I say. “And then you stayed.”
His jaw tics slightly. “You don’t know all of it.”
“I know enough.”
He nods once, like that’s both a warning and a reward.
Then: “You’ll have to call in sick today.”
I blink. “What?”
“I won’t keep you here, Mara, but if you leave now, it makes you vulnerable.”
I open my mouth to argue. Close it again.
Because he’s right.
“I’ll text Celeste,” I murmur.
He steps away, giving me space. I watch him move, every inch of him composed but alert. Coiled in some way I haven’t unraveled yet.
This man doesn’t sleep. He listens. He calculates. He protects.
And he’s dangerous.
But he stayed.
I send the text to Celeste with a practiced lie: something about a stomach bug and a restless night. It’s vague, non-dramatic—just enough to keep suspicion at bay.
Elias doesn’t look at me while I type. He gives me the dignity of distance. That, or he already knows exactly what I said.
I set my phone down and wrap both hands around the mug again. It’s cooling now, but I don’t let go.
“What are we waiting for?” I ask.
He doesn’t pretend to misunderstand.
“For Caleb to react,” Elias says. “He will. The silence won’t last.”
