Page 66 of Locke 2

But he was keeping the suits.

Conor’s grin widened. “Fucking hell, Locke, we got work to do.”

Locke frowned. “But the boy—”

“The boy is your number one priority, but so is Kali,” Conor firmly stated. “Both of them. Understand?”

Locke looked back down at the dog as she relaxed her chin on his shoe, dozing off to sleep. “I understand.”

“Now after I tell you this, I’m not going anymore. I’m in this, too. I want to help.” Conor’s tone hardened. “Agree to my help, Max.”

Locke refused to look back at Conor. He wasn’t accustomed to feeling powerless. The last time he found himself in such a situation was a year ago when Charlotte had cornered him, forcing him to make a promise he never wanted to make.

“I agree,” he finally whispered.

Thirty

Kali

Iwas pretty sure I had spooked Jem away. He left me alone in the bedroom. He came only once to ask if I was hungry, and even then, he didn’t look me in the eye. I passed on the food, and he hadn’t been back since. When he’d left, he kept the door ajar, perhaps a sign to let me know I was free to roam, but I didn’t.

I sat on the bed, staring distantly out the window. The sky was darkening. It was mid-afternoon and the wind picked up, making the glass tremble with its force.

I was alone. Truly alone. Aurora had gone quiet, and it made me twitchy and nervous. The only company was my thoughts, and they were centred on a suited man that kept looking at me like I was his everything. I didn’t know if I could trust it. It could have been in my head. When you gave your heart to someone, they wielded the ultimate power. They could give you everything in the world, and in the same instant, they could take it away.

My everything had been Aurora, and I’d never filled that gaping hole ever since. She got taken away from me. I watched her leave, and there was no farewell, no closure, no final words to hold onto. It was a violent end, and with a man like Locke, who lived a violent life, the same could happen at any given moment.

I couldn’t endure that loss twice.

I wouldn’t survive.

The door swung open, followed by his spine-tingling voice.

“What did you do to Jem?”

Relief flooded me. I turned away from the window and looked at Locke. My lips curved upwards. He was holding Dahlia to his chest, his face twisted in confusion. He came to me and placed her on the bed. She instantly ran up to me, burying her head into my stomach.

“Jem learned I’m a little crazy,” I admitted as I stroked her fur.

“That doesn’t spook Jem.”

He watched me for a few moments, his eyes heavy on my face. I kept mine focused on Dahlia. I had questions. He’d said some things that needed to be cleared up, but it felt sort of trivial right now.

Plus, I was concerned that Jem was right. That if I asked, Locke really would be forthcoming about it all. He’d been open since the second he’d placed that gun to my head a few short days ago, so full of anger and anguish and…

Are you capable of more, Locke? Or do you just want a bird for your cage?

I’d never feel brave enough to ask.

“What spooks Jem?” I asked, steering the conversation to safer ground.

“These days, it’s either his guilty conscience or things beyond his understanding.”

If I applied that logic to what happened earlier, I’d wager Jem couldn’t figure me out. My honesty for once had come to my rescue. If I’d dodged that jerk’s questions and kept arguing back, he’d have danced rings around me, feasting on my evasive anger.

My smile pulled wider. “I bet the house has never been so quiet.”

Locke let out a sudden laugh. The sound drew my gaze up at him. At the smile he rewarded me with. When he did that—when he truly smiled–-he looked significantly younger and boyish. “Your bet is correct.”

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