Chapter 10 · Karl Isn't His Name

I hung up on Eli Ashe.

Karl—no, Caleb—stood three feet away, staring at my phone like it might explode. The apartment smelled like smoke and burnt plastic from the fire we'd just put out. My hands were still shaking.

"So," I said. "Caleb."

He didn't move. Just kept staring.

"That's your real name. Caleb Ashe." My voice came out flat. I was too tired to yell. "And Eli's your brother. The one who wants you dead. The one who just called my phone."

"Amy—"

"Don't." I held up one hand. The mark on my shoulder burned. It always burned when he was close and lying. "I'm done with the half-truth bullshit. You said you escaped a blood pit. You said you were nobody. But your brother runs the Ashe family. Which makes you—what? The spare? The failure?"

His jaw tightened. "The dead one."

"Except you're not dead."

"I was supposed to be."

I laughed. It hurt. "Great. So I'm bound to a dead guy. That's just perfect."

He moved toward me. I stepped back. My spine hit the counter.

"Amy, listen—"

"No. You listen." I shoved my phone in my pocket.