The heavy silence that followed our grand declaration of mutual fidelity lasted for exactly three minutes. It was a good three minutes. It was the kind of silence where you can actually hear your own pulse slowing down from "fleeing the authorities" to "merely heavily compromised."
But then, Kaeren shifted his weight.
The thrum of his heartbeat beneath my cheek altered its cadence, taking on that slightly stiff pause that usually preceded an official decree or a tactical retreat.
"There is something else. Something you need to know," he said.
My heart, which had been blissfully off-duty for the last half hour, immediately put its boots back on and braced for impact. It already knew the shape of the blow before it landed. The universe doesn't give you a clean slate, an erased murder charge, and a $300 million counter-extortion scheme without sending a bill immediately after.
