Page 109 of The Sound of Him

I laugh, the sound coming out a little wet, a little hysterical. “It’s always a good time to learn new skills.”

“I’m all good. I’ve got enough on my plate.” He sighs. “He might as well be able to come back when he wants. Sure. The house is already compromised. I want extra protection, though. If any of the support agents chooses to leave, we’ll need to replace them. I also want at least two added on after that. Maybe more. I’ll leave that up to Keaton since he’s better at those kind of logistics. I want eyes on Carter, too. Put cameras on wherever he’s staying. Don’t let him get a job somewhere you can’t hack into or set up your own surveillance. He needs to do check-ins. You’re giving him a new phone, right? Put a tracker in it. Any other technology you send with, too. Is he active? Does he exercise? Try to talk him into a fucking smart watch or something else that monitors his vitals. If he gets snagged, I want to know within seven minutes. Five, preferably. I’m not letting someone get leverage on this organization, understood? I’ll kill both brothers and Travis too before I let this get any messier, Ace. You can tell them that. This is as far as the line is going to stretch. Is that understood?”

“Yes. Absolutely, yes. I - I understand. Yes. Fuck. Thank you, Kellan. God.” I laugh breathlessly, tears rolling down my cheeks.

I’m so relieved.

I’m so exhausted.

“On one condition.”Well… shit.“You’re going to go ahead of them to the town. Set up the place they’re going to live in beforehand.”

“Oh, yeah, of course-”

“And Keaton is going to meet you there.”

Oh.

“He’s worried about you,” he says, bringing things full circle. “He wants to talk. You’re going to let him.”

That’s not… so bad.

Right?

“And if he decides you need it, you’re going to stop avoiding Adam and do a session with him. No excuses.”

No, okay,that’sbad.

That’s… really bad.

“Traitor. We hate those sessions, remember?” I try to joke, but it lands all watery and forced.

Hehmms. This one, at least, I know very well.

This one means,I hear you.It means,good point.It means,I understand, that’s fair, you’re right.

It means,but it’s happening anyway.

“Do we have a deal?” he asks, probably knowing he doesn’t have to elaborate on hishmm.

I look out at the trees, a little less blurry now. “We’ve got a deal.”

“Good. Keep me updated. Make damn sure they all realize they’re on the final straw with the - god, what do they call me in that group?”

“The Head.”

“Yeah. Jesus. Makes me feel like one of the supervillians in those terrible movies Keaton is always insisting I watch.”

“They aren’tterrible.”

“Agree to disagree.”

I roll my eyes, but it’s hard to be annoyed when my relief that this conversation went well is hitting me like the best drug.

“I’ll tell them. I’ll make sure they understand. Thank you, Kellan. Really. Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah, good.” He makes a noise, then sighs. “Take care of yourself, alright.”

“Yeah.” I smile, just a little. “You too.”