Page 128 of Chaotic Curse
I swipe to answer.
“What?”My voice is harsher than I mean it to be.
Falcon doesn’t flinch.“Eagle’s awake.”
The words freeze me mid-step.
“He pulled through,” Falcon says.“And he’s asking for you.”
For a second, all I can hear is my own heartbeat.
I picture Eagle lying in that hospital bed, pale and wired to a dozen machines, looking at the door every time it opens.
Waiting for me.
And I wasn’t there.
I could’ve been there.I should’ve been there.
Reyes can wait.
He’s not going anywhere.
“I’m coming,” I say, and my voice comes out rough, almost foreign.
I fly down the remainder of the stairs and head for the door of Reyes’s place.
The safe, the blood, the diary… I’ll take care of them later.I’ll return.But first?
Eagle.
I’m not risking another second.
40
DANIELA
I pacethe length of my suite, my bare feet whispering over the polished wood.My brain won’t shut off.
The pieces I’ve been gathering—half-clues, stray observations, things I’ve been too afraid to line up—finally clicked this morning.And now I know.
I know who’s behind the chocolates.And the other gifts, I assume.
The realization sits heavy in my chest and presses against my ribs like something trying to escape.But now that I have it, I’m stuck on the next question.
What the hell do I do with it?
Every instinct tells me to call Hawk.He’ll know what to do.He always knows, even when his way is brutal, even when it leaves blood in its wake.
But then I remember the things I said to him.
The way I told him I didn’t want his protection—not if it meant breaking into houses and tying people up in barns.
I meant it at the time.At least, I thought I did.
The truth?I was scared.Overwhelmed.Angry in that bone-deep way where every word comes out sharper than you intend.My nerves have been on edge for days, and I lashed out at the one person who’s been trying to keep me safe.
His motives were pure.The methods?Questionable.But the heart behind them?I can’t doubt it.
