Page 173 of Bound By Crimson
“I figured.”
There was a pause.
Lyric exhaled shakily. “How much money?”
“What?”
“How much did they offer you?”
“A lot,” Rowan said. “But I’m not taking it. I’m not leaving you like this.”
“You have to,” Lyric said.
“No—”
“You have to,” she repeated, louder. “Rowan, I’m trapped here. I don’t even know how bad this is yet. I just know it’s big. Bigger than me. I can’t protect you. I can’t worry about you.”
Her voice broke again.
“If I have to fight this alone, I need to know that you’re safe. I need to know you’re far away. Taken care of. Not being followed. Not being threatened.”
“But Lyric—”
“I’m asking you because I love you. I need to protect my child right now. There is no other way you will be safe.”
Silence.
Then Rowan’s voice, barely audible. “I’m kind of scared.”
“I know,” Lyric whispered. “I am too.”
Another pause.
“Tell Velora I’m okay. I never wanted this to happen,” she said. “Also, tell her I’m sorry—and that she needs to take the money too. Neither of you can try to help me.”
“I’ll tell her.”
“Promise me you’ll take the money. Go to L.A. Or somewhere far. Start over—and don’t call me again.”
“I—”
“Promise me.”
A beat.
“I promise.”
“Thank you.”
The call ended.
This time, Lyric didn’t cry.
She closed her eyes, one hand over her heart, the other over her belly.
And she sat in the silence, listening to the wind move through the garden like it didn’t care who she used to be.
For the first time she realized what Kai had truly done.
