Another pause.
“What’s going on with the guys who took me?”I asked quietly.
His voice changed immediately.Sharper.Certain.“We’re gonna find them.And they’re going to pay.”
I quirked my lips.“What happens if you can’t find them?”
I knew how this worked.Once they realized I was back with the Fallen Lords, those guys would scatter.Hide.Disappear.
“There is no can’t, baby,” he said firmly.“We’re going to find them.”
I sighed.
I knew what that meant.And I was okay with it.
They’d hurt Star.Then they’d hurt me.They didn’t get to keep breathing like nothing happened.
I heard Ender move and turned my head.
He was standing now.
Shirtless.Jeans still on.Barefoot.
Sunlight from the window cut across his chest, highlighting every line of muscle and every scar that told a story I didn’t know yet.He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
He was just… unfairly handsome.
“You got anything you want to do today?”he asked, heading toward the bathroom.He stopped in the doorway and looked back at me.“Earth to Clove.”
I blinked rapidly.“Uh, well, nothing really comes to mind.”I thought for a second.“Dairy Bar?”
He chuckled and shook his head.“You are definitely one of the Fallen Lords girls.You all love that place.”He stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.
And panic slammed into me.
It was stupid.I knew it was stupid.He wasn’t gone.He was literally ten feet away.But my chest tightened anyway, and my breath caught like my body didn’t care about logic.
“You’re being ridiculous, Clove,” I whispered.
I closed my eyes and started counting backward from one hundred.
Ninety-nine.
Ninety-eight.
Ninety-seven.
The door opened when I hit forty-nine.
“Were you counting?”Ender asked.
My eyes snapped open.“Uh, who?”
He raised an eyebrow.“You, baby.Were you counting?”
I pushed up on my elbows.“Counting?Me?”
He leaned against the doorframe, arms folded, and his smirk firmly in place.“Uh-huh.”