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“We’re very different.”
Owen plucked a bottle of water from the table and transferred it from hand to hand. “You told them about my parents.”
“I did,” I said evenly. “Whether or not they deserved it, it was still murder, and I saw no reason to keep secrets for you. You tried to kill me. Again.”
Owen let out a sigh. “It wasn’t the same. We were supposed to go together. It would have been—”
“Fucked up,” I cut in before he could put a more romantic spin on it. “It would have been fucked up. I didn’t want to die. I’ve done it before, and I didn’t much like it.”
He leaned forward again, closer this time. “But do you like being alive?”
“Answer my question first.”
He feigned ignorance. “What question?”
“Do you wish you’d died?”
He studied a cut on the back of his hand. “Do you know what reading minds in prison is like?”
“That’s not—”
He held up a hand. “I’m getting there. Let me get there in my own time.” When I nodded, he continued. “There are so many secrets. What they did. What they’ve hidden. Who they’ve hidden it with. The contraband they’ve stashed away. The man who knows all of that information could be king if he’s clever. So no, I don’t wish I were dead, but I’m still not thanking you.”
I stood, Owen blinking up at me in surprise. “You’re leaving already.”
“Lake’s waiting for me, and I have another meeting. And you have a kingdom to run.”
He laughed. “That I do.”
I’d barely turned away when he called my name.
“What?”
“Do you think our parents will come to see me?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “But they won’t come to see me either, so…”
“What about you?” There was a watchfulness beneath the casual tone. “Will you come again?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe.” That was the most I could give him. His eyes burned a spot between my shoulder blades as I walked away.
I hadn’t lied when I’d told Owen I had another meeting. Cade had chosen the same day to summon me to his office—one month shy of the three-month target he’d set. Which probably meant… Actually, I didn’t have a clue what it meant. It could mean he was eager to cut ties and stop paying me, or it could just as easily mean he wanted to extend the hand of reconciliation after everything that had happened. I had no doubt that Asher had kept him up to speed with everything.
Asher met my question of how long Cade would keep me waiting with a shrug. When Cade finally appeared at the door, I was surprised Asher remained seated at his desk. “You’re not coming in?”
He raised his head, his glacial blue gaze meeting mine. “I think you can handle this on your own.”
“You didn’t think I could handle it two months ago.”
“You were a wreck then.”
“And now?”
He smiled. “And now you’re not.”
