Page 131 of Iced Up Love: Part Two
Lucian moves further into the room, his steps quiet, measured, and he doesn’t go straight to the bed. He stops just slightly behind Elijah instead, his presence there solid, grounded, like he’s placing himself between what’s happened and what comes next.
He doesn’t speak.
Not at first.
Elijah looks at him.
Just once.
A silent exchange passes between them, something I can’t fully read but can feel all the same.
Then Elijah’s voice comes. Low. Controlled.
“Is he at the warehouse?”
Lucian nods.
“He is.”
The air in the room shifts. Subtly. But enough.
“You need to stay here,” Elijah says.
Lucian’s gaze sharpens slightly.
“What do you mean?”
Elijah doesn’t look away from Lia.
“I mean I’m not sitting here waiting while he’s still breathing.”
The words land heavy.
Jackson straightens.
“Elijah—”
“I need to finish this,” he says, and there’s something in his voice now that wasn’t there before, something quieter but far more dangerous. “I need to know it’s done before she wakes up.”
“She might wake up,” Jackson pushes back immediately. “You’re going to leave and...what if she wakes up and you’re not here?”
Elijah’s hand tightens around Lia’s slightly.
“I’m not letting her wake up knowing he’s still out there,” he says. “Not after this. Not after what he did.”
The room holds that.
Evelyn looks between us, confusion and fear mixing in her expression, and I can feel the shift in Jackson beside her, the moment he realizes we shouldn’t be having this conversation in front of her.
“Come outside,” he says quietly.
We move.
Reluctantly.
Stepping out into the hallway, the door closing softly behind us, leaving Evelyn alone with Lia.
The second it shuts, the tension snaps tighter.
