Page 96 of Requiem
“What word did he use?” Rafe repeats, sharper now. “The one that triggered you.”
My jaw tightens. “????????,” I say, the syllables bitter on my tongue.
Rafe nods once, already filing it away. “What else?”
I hesitate. Fragments flicker through my mind—commands, tones, phrases burned into me so deep they feel like instinct now. My hands curl slowly at my sides. “???????????,” I admit quietly.
“Kill. Obey,” he replies swiftly. “Any others?”
My mind is reeling. “I…I don’t know.”
Rafe studies me for a long moment, his gaze unreadable. “That,” he says evenly, “is a problem.”
My eyes burn, my jaw locking as my gaze drifts back to Emma. Guilt is tearing through my chest.
I almost hurt her.
Well, notalmost. I fuckingdid.
And the worst part is that I didn’t even see it coming. This shit is deeper than I thought it was. A goddamn knee-jerk reaction that, thankfully, I was able to curb in the slightest. I shoved her instead of snapping her fucking neck. The silence that follows makes me want to scream.
“I’ve got you,” Micah murmurs, his grip slowly retreating.
I nod once, even though the motion feels delayed. Across the room, Emma hasn’t moved far from where I shoved her. I take a step toward her before I can think better of it. “Emma—”
She straightens before I can get closer, one hand still braced against the counter, but her voice is calm when she speaks. “I’m okay.”
She’s choosing not to react the way she probably should.
I clench my teeth. “I didn’t—”
“I know,” she says quietly, cutting me off before I can finish the sentence I don’t even know how to say. But her eyes search mine anyway. Not for blame, but forawareness.
Did you feel it?
Did you see it coming?
I shake my head once.
No.
That answer passes between us without words, and her expression softens.
Rafe steps forward then, his gaze moving from Emma to me, not missing a single detail. “If he can trigger you over the phone,” he says evenly, “he can trigger you in a room full of people.”
No one argues with him because we all just watched it fucking happen.
“That was a direct command,” Rafe continues.“Immediatecompliance response.”
The words land like a diagnosis.Like I’m fucking sick.
I guess I am.
Emma finally shifts beside the counter, her arms folding loosely across her chest. “He came back pretty fast,” she says, her voice steady but thoughtful. “That’s good.”
Rafe glances at her. “It is,” he agrees. “But it’s not enough.”
That stings, because he definitely isn’t wrong. My fingers flex at my sides. “I didn’t even see it coming,” I admit, my voice quiet.
