Page 75 of Redline Communion
Something in my face tells her enough.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
Her laugh is short and ugly. “That’s usually the problem.”
“Talia.”
“What?”
I should tell her my father knows.
I should tell her the restriction will not be the end of it if Lorelei’s cocaine use continues.
Instead I say, “Your access has been restricted.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
“And the money?”
“Suspended.”
She nods once, absorbing it much more calmly than I would prefer.
“There’s your paperwork.”
“This wasn’t my decision.”
“No, Cassian.” Her voice stays quiet. “You just built the arrangement that gave him something to take away.”
She leaves before I can answer.
I remain in the sitting room with the muted television reflecting an empty sofa and my own outline standing behind it. My father placed Talia inside a threat, acted before I could decide what I intended to do with that threat, and I still did not warn her.
Perhaps withholding it protected the arrangement.
It certainly did not protect her.
My first instinct is to confront Rafe.
I take out my phone to do exactly that, then stop with his name open beneath my thumb. Talia’s accusation is still too recent, and going directly from her refusal to Rafe’s would make the pattern difficult even for me to deny.
Instead, I open the most recent reporting file.
Rafe’s submission contains four lines.
Subject attended private circuit gathering with university associates.
No notable change in routine.
No security concerns.
Subject returned safely.
I read them twice.
