Page 161 of Fractured Allegiance
“And you want me to ignore him.”
“I want you alive.”
He’s not trying to charm me. That’s what makes it worse.
He’s serious.
Like he’s already imagined the fallout and decided it’s worth it.
My legs won’t move. Not yet.
Because choosing this means choosing the consequences, too. I’ll burn a bridge with Drazen I can’t un-burn. The file Drazen claims to have. I’ll lose my foothold. I’ll expose whatever thin trust he thinks he has in me. And for what?
For a man who won’t even tell me the truth about where he goes when he disappears for hours. For a man who touched my wrist in a hallway like it was sacred and then left me with the echo of it.
“I can’t,” I say.
Not loud.
Not apologetic either.
Just… true.
His jaw ticks. But he doesn’t move back.
“Then I’ll wait.”
I shake my head. “Don’t.”
I shake my head. "You can't. Drazen will notice you're not where you're supposed to be."
"The meeting's over," he says quietly. "He already dismissed me."
My chest tightens. "Then why are you still here?"
His eyes hold mine. "You know why."
I do. And that's the problem.
"You should go," I whisper.
"Not without you."
"Silas—"
"I'm parked in the garage. Level three. Black sedan, north corner." His voice drops lower. "If you change your mind, I'll be there. Thirty minutes. After that, I'm gone."
My throat closes. "I can't."
He stares at me for another beat—long enough for me to feel every unspoken word hanging between us.
Then his hand drops.
"This isn't over," he says.
And then he turns and walks away.
Not back toward the meeting room this time. Toward the stairwell. Toward the exit.
