Page 66 of Tempest’s Torment

Ghost nods. "He wanted to split us."

Silence fills the room because no one wants to say what we’re all thinking. If Rogue's chasing the SUV it means there's one less Saint protecting Lilah.

Ghost looks at me. "You leave this apartment?"

"No."

"Good." He glances at Savage. "Check the fire escape." Savage nods and disappears without another word.

Ghost looks back at me. "She's your priority."

"She already was."

"I know."

He holds my gaze. "I'm making it official."

I nod. "Understood."

His eyes flick briefly toward Lilah before settling back on me. "He changes tactics again..."

"I call."

"Immediately," he insists.

"Yeah."

Ghost gives me a sharp nod. "Good."

The apartment is very quiet once Ghost and Savage leave. I watch Lilah pottering around the kitchen without saying anything. She’s making something on the stove. I’ve come to realize she goes to the kitchen when she’s worried or anxious about something. It’s as though she needs to be busy.

I step into the kitchen, and she turns to me, her gaze searching my face. "Are they gone?" she asks.

"Yeah."

She turns back to the stove. I let her be and run the checks around the house: locks, camera, windows, fire escape latch. Nothing's changed, good.

When I come back, she's at the table with both hands around a mug, her gaze on me. I notice there’s another cup waiting for me. I sit down and see that she’s made hot chocolate, something I haven’t had in years.

"Are we pretending that didn't happen?" she asks.

I raise my head from the mug to look at her. "No," I say.

She smiles into her mug. Christ, she's beautiful. "Okay." She takes a sip of hot chocolate before turning back to me. "I don't regret it," she says.

I grin. "Good, cos neither do I." I wrap my hands around the mug. "I wasn't expecting hot chocolate."

She shrugs. "I needed something comforting."

I look down at the mug. "And I got one too?"

A smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. "It would've been rude not to."

I take a sip. "I've definitely been missing out."

Her brows rise in surprise. "You've never had hot chocolate?"

"Not since I was a kid."