Page 141 of The Rules
Ben stayed close, half-leaned beside her. Still watching.
Still calculating. Part of him wondered if they could get something from this man. If there was leverage worth the risk.
A face-to-face? Maybe. If she was going to chase ghosts, he needed to be there to make sure they didn’t become monsters.
"And before you get any ideas—rule two still stands."
His tone cracked through the quiet like a gavel.
"I—" Kath started, tension gathering between her brows.
"You don’t do anything alone," he said. Sharper now. Absolute. "No more disappearing acts. No more reckless decisions."
The silence returned. Not empty—loaded.
“Understood.”
Her voice was soft. But the fire in her eyes hadn’t moved an inch.
He saw it.
And it twisted something in him—tight, sharp, and far too familiar.
She said yes. But she wasn’t done fighting.
And neither was he.
???
Later, he watched her from across the desk, as she shifted in her seat and reached down—her heels hitting the floor with a softthunk. She flexed her ankles, then curled one leg beneath her, long fingers digging briefly into her shoulder like she was working out a knot.
She exhaled slowly, reached for her phone, glanced at the screen, then flipped it face down without reacting. Not a single alert had come in, but he could see it in her face—the tension she wasn’t bothering to hide anymore.
She leaned back and rolled her neck, like someone trying to shake off a weight they didn’t remember picking up.
Ben watched her do all of it without saying a word.
She wasn’t reading the file in front of her. She wasn’t even pretending to.
"What happened with Josh?" he asked, tone casual, but the air between them shifted instantly—sharper, heavier.
Her fingers froze mid-stretch across the page.
"Nothing that matters," Kath said, too fast, her voice tight. She didn’t look at him.
It mattered. The fact that she fired it off so quickly mattered.
Ben sat back, studying her. The smooth mask she wore had slipped before—he knew what cracks to look for now. The way she didn’t blink. The way she held her breath for just a second too long.
She was hiding something.
And whatever it was? She knew it would get under his skin.
Katherine could feel his eyes on her before he spoke.
That stillness he wore like armor—it was back. But not indifferent. Focused. Calculated. She didn’t look up from the page in front of her, but her body betrayed her—one leg crossing over the other, arms tightening just a fraction.
"I take it the date went well," Ben said casually, the words quiet, calm.
