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No one answered.

“I am nobody,” I said, the panic clawing up my throat. “I make coffee. I deliver flowers. I have never even jaywalked in front of a clan building, Sam.”

They stayed the night.

Sam and I crashed on the couch like kids at a sleepover, backs against opposite arms, legs tangled in the middle. Daniel took the floor near the door. The lights stayed on. The TV stayed off. None of us said what we were staring at.

The twin roses on my counter.

Every time my eyes drifted away, they slid back.

Two roses.

A Lux Tower mask.

A ward that protected me from everyone except the man who made it.

We didn’t name it. No way we were putting that out into the universe. That maybe, possibly, I had a stalker.

And that stalker was maybe, possibly, Lux Draven’s personal assassin.

Because that was crazy.

Right?

My neck itched. I scratched under my jaw until Sam slapped my hand away without even looking.

“Stop clawing yourself,” she muttered.

We dozed in ugly little chunks, jerking awake every time a car passed outside or the fridge kicked on. At some point Daniel kissed Sam’s forehead, squeezed my shoulder, and bailed, promising to check in before his shift.

By the time gray light started leaking around my curtains, my eyes felt sanded.

My shift was coming up. Life didn’t care if you’d been almost-maybe-murdered by a floral weirdo.

“You work today?” I asked, voice rough.

Sam stretched, joints popping, hair a rat’s nest. “Nope. I swapped with Mandi for a date night this week, remember?”

I made a face. “Of course you get a day off during my horror movie.”

She grinned sleepily. “Perks of being mated to a guy with Guard benefits.”

I flopped my head back against the couch. “Mandi, then. You know she’s going to eat this up.”

Sam shook her head. “Nah. I think Kalon works the morning shift today.”

“Oh.” I blinked. “Right.”

Sam’s elbow dug into my ribs. “You know Kalon likes you.”

I snorted. “He does not.”

She gave me a smug grin, full teeth. “Seriously, Liv. He likes you. Has for the past two years. He told me.”

I froze mid–eye roll. “Wait. Really?”

She nodded, way too pleased with herself.