Page 191 of Terms of Exposure
He rose from the chair, smoothing his jacket, a smug grin plastered on his face.
"Not yet, but soon."
Soon?
He moved toward the door, then paused with his hand on the knob. When he looked back, the smile was gone. What replaced it was feral. Hungry. "And when I do, I'll destroy you both. You and the girl."
The door clicked shut behind him.
I sat motionless, staring at the space where he'd been.
The girl.
Like she was nothing.
Like she was collateral.
My hands curled into fists on the desk, knuckles blanching white.
I took a slow breath. Then another. Forced my fingers to uncurl.
My phone buzzed.
Emma: How bad?
I exhaled, rolling the tension out of my shoulders.
Emma's voice in Dr. Raines's office surfaced.No more lies.
Deal.I'd said the word myself.
I stared at the screen. Three words. That's all it would take. Three honest words and she'd know everything—the threat, the timeline, the target on both our backs.
The rule we'd made. The promise I'd given her in that quiet office with the bare-footed therapist and the succulent on the table and Emma's hand warm in mine.
But…
Me: It wasn't.
The lie sat there on the screen, small and sharp and damning.
Three dots appeared. Disappeared.
She knows.
Of course she did. Emma always knew.
Guilt pressed up beneath my ribs, sharp and unwelcome.
Ping.
Emma: Good. I'm glad.
I ran a hand through my hair, fingers catching in the strands.
"Coward," I muttered into the empty room.
Tell her.
