Page 119 of Never Sleep with the Enemy

“Really?”

“A lot of people do,” he says, his smile fading to something softer. “I thought you sounded different.”

“Different how?”

“Not sure. Just… adifferentyou.” His eyes meet mine. The words settle between us like a secret only we understand. “But still you.”

I smile, remembering. I said the same thing to him once. Just after he found Marla. His muse.

“Have you written anything on him yet?” he asks.

The question catches me off guard, though it shouldn’t. If I’ve learned anything from my brother, from Jonah, even from Logan, it’s that matters of the heart often spark the greatest inspirations.

Logan may be my muse.

And maybe I’m his, too.

“Yes,” I say. “It’s far from finished. Not sure if it’ll ever be, but…”

I trail off, unsure.

“Scary time,” Jonah says. “Exciting, too, though.”

“It is.”

“I’m happy for you, Kat.”

“Yeah?”

He nods, brow creased like he’s weighing every word. “I’m glad someone’s finally pulling you into the spotlight.”

It’s not at all what I expected. I thought he’d be as pissed as all the others. But... of course he gets it. Jonahalwaysgets it.

“Thank you, Jonah,” I whisper.

He hugs me. A warm, familiar kind of hug that wraps around all my jagged edges. I exhale in his arms, letting the tension bleed out of my chest. Letting myself feel safe.

Jonah kisses my forehead, then pulls back to look at me. “You okay?” he asks again.

“Yeah,” I say. “I am now.”

He smiles. “Good.”

“Jonah,” Knox says, irritated, “what are you doing?”

“Reminding you of the big picture,” Jonah says, turning to face them. “I expected things to be messy when I got back. But this?” His voice sharpens. “Katrina’s going through something huge. Somethingwonderful.This isn’t the time for lectures and guilt trips. But what do I hear when I walk through the door?”

“Jo, she lied to us,” Knox says.

“So?” Jonah shrugs. “In her shoes, I would’ve lied to you, too. And she’s right, by the way. You all broke rules left and right on tour. I kept my mouth shut about it then, but I’m not going to stay silent now. You want to cast stones? Fine. I’ll cast them right back.”

Behind him, my eyes widen.

“No one wants to cast stones,” Jordan says gently.

“There’s a big difference between what we’ve done and what she’s doing,” Addison says.

“Is there?” Jonah challenges. “Because the only difference I see is that you don’t like the guy.”

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