Chapter 27 · The Child in the Ledger

The tracker exploded.

Not literally. But close enough. The metal band around Aiden's wrist cracked down the center, gold light pouring out like blood from a wound. Two thousand bars. All of them lit. All of them showing the same name.

Leah Vaughn.

Leah Vaughn.

Leah Vaughn.

Over and over. Three hundred years of debts. Every life he'd saved. Every coffee he'd poured at three a.m. for someone about to walk into traffic. Every hand he'd pulled back from a ledge. Every overdose he'd reversed in a back alley. Every single one of them—her.

"No." Aiden's voice came out flat. Dead. "That's not possible."

Cain smiled. The kind of smile that made Ink shriek and launch off the counter, talons out. One of the black-robed figures caught the raven mid-air with a flick of their wrist. Ink hit the floor hard, wings snapping.

"Ink!" Leah lurched forward, but Aiden's arm shot out, blocking her.

"Stay behind me."

"Your little bird is fine." Cain didn't even look at Ink. His eyes stayed on Aiden. "She's tougher than she looks. Unlike you, brother. You always were soft."

Aiden's jaw locked. The tracker kept glowing, even as the cracks spread wider. "You're lying."