Page 206 of Nyx

"I know you're scared," I say. "I know you're worried that something terrible has happened since you last heard from the foster parents, but we're here. If you want to go inside, I'll go with you. If you want to sit here and wait for them to respond to your messages so you have a better idea of what you're walking into, we can do that as well."

She shakes her head, as if those two choices aren't enough.

"We can go back to the clubhouse," I offer.

"No," she snaps as if that can't be an option. "I have to be here with you."

My brows draw together, confusion at her words making me wonder if she's struggling with her thoughts.

"Wait in the car or go inside," I offer again.

"Go inside," she says, this time pulling off her seatbelt and opening the passenger-side door.

I follow her lead and open my door, stepping out.

The heat from all the concrete surrounds me, the warmth sticking to my skin uncomfortably.

I meet her at the back of the car.

"I'm so sorry," she apologizes again.

"It's okay. Let's head inside," I say, urging her to move with my steps toward the elevator.

Movement catches my eye, my heart stopping when I see Graham stepping out of the shadows.

The first thought that hits me is that he's going to prevent Kayla from seeing her daughter. The idea of the girl in a bed too big for her little body, as she clings to life on a ventilator, fills my mind.

"I'm so sorry," Kayla says to me once again, filling me with dread before her next words even leave her lips. "I got her here, just like you asked."

The terror and fear she had showcased for the last half hour are gone. Betrayal hits me right in the chest, locking me in place as I look over at the other woman. This entire thing is a setup.

Fear of what happens next swirls with the quick relief that a little girl isn't possibly dying inside, and the mix of the two seems so contradictory to each other that my brain can't fully understand what's happening.

Then a wave of awareness hits. My memory sorts through every interaction I've had with Kayla Rowe since our first meeting. All the questions she had about my past that I explained away by thinking she was nervous or wanting to cling to another person's history to help her get through her own more recent traumas. The way she tracked me, watching every move I made. How unhelpful she had been with the others, but was quick to step up when I was involved.

All of it made sense now.

She had been helping Graham this entire time, but that also doesn't make sense, considering the vetting process that Cerberus put us all through. He had to have made contact with her after their research but before she came to the house.

I blink at her, my eyes trying to catch up to what I'm actually seeing.

The bruises she had when she first arrived have since faded, but I have no way of knowing if she had them from her ex or if she suffered them in order to appear more helpless when she arrived.

She had to have actually been abused by an ex for Cerberus to clear her to move into Juniper House.

But I also know that Graham has been very patient in his efforts to reach me, and every single action he took over the years involving her could've been part of his plan.

Sadness fills Kayla's eyes as she looks back at me, and I know immediately that he's either manipulating her or threatening her in some way in order to get her to help him. She's as much one of his victims as I was.

My hands shake as my mind catches up to what's happening. Then my entire body trembles, my jaw wavering as I consider all the possibilities of what happens next.

Kayla looks confused as she watches the first tear roll down my cheek.

"Juliet?" she whispers before turning her eyes back to Graham. "You said she loves you. That you love her"

"She does," Graham says, an assurance in his tone that tells me delusion is alive and well inside of him.

"She's terrified of you," Kayla says, taking a step further back as her hand reaches out to grab mine.