Chapter 15 · The Cost of Clean

I'm staring at the spot on the floor where Kade's blood dried into the wood when my phone buzzes.

Unknown number.

I should delete it. I should block it and throw the phone across the room for good measure. But my thumb's already swiping it open because I'm an idiot and the last twelve hours have turned my brain into soup.

The text is two words: "Still interested?"

I don't have to ask who it is. Theron doesn't do introductions.

My fingers hover over the screen. I could ignore it. I could tell Kade. I could do a lot of things that aren't typing back "In what" like I don't already know exactly what he's talking about.

The reply comes in seconds: "Freedom. The kind that doesn't come with a leash."

I bite the inside of my cheek hard enough to taste copper. He's talking about the bond. He's talking about the out I've been clawing toward since the second I woke up with Kade's bite on my neck. And he's talking about it like it's easy. Like it's clean.

Mom's voice is still rattling around in my skull from the tape. The Red Well can sever the bond.