Page 49 of Cold Ignition

He didn’t hesitate.

Didn’t need to think about it.

“I want them,” he said quietly.

The honesty of it surprised even him.

No hesitation. No deflection. Just truth.

Kael nodded once, like that was the only answer that mattered.

“Then stop overthinking it,” he said.

Keanu let out a short, humorless laugh. “That’s it? That’s the advice?”

Kael’s expression didn’t shift. “You’re not a kid anymore, Keanu. You don’t need my or anyone else’s permission to go after what you want. You need clarity.”

Keanu’s jaw tightened. “And what if I’m wrong?”

“Then you deal with it,” Kael said simply. “But from what I’ve seen?” A beat. “You’re not.”

Keanu held his gaze for a second longer, something settling in his chest—heavy, certain, impossible to ignore.

Kael turned back to the screens, already moving on. “Figure it out before someone else makes the call for you.”

Keanu huffed a breath, but the tension had shifted now—sharpened into something focused. Intentional.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I will.”

The bus was quiet when he stepped inside.

Dim lighting. Low hum of systems. A space that felt lived in now. Occupied.

He could feel them before he saw them.

Rangi was in the main living area, leaning back against the counter, one hand braced behind him, the other wrapped loosely around a glass. His gaze lifted the moment Keanu stepped in—and there it was again.

That look. Not subtle. Not hidden.

Alexios was further back, seated, one arm still wrapped but no longer immobilized, his posture relaxed in a way that was anything but careless. His eyes tracked Keanu in silence, sharp and knowing.

Waiting.

Keanu closed the door behind him slowly, the sound quiet but final.

The air shifted. Something tightening. Something building.

Rangi’s mouth curved slightly. “Took you long enough.”

Keanu’s brow furrowed. “For what?”

Alexios leaned forward just slightly, gaze steady. “To decide,” he said.

Keanu went still.

And just like that—he knew. They’d been waiting for him. Not pushing. Not forcing. But waiting.

For him. For this.