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I watched as Aleks mostly listened as Dante spoke I suspected the first part of the conversation was Dante trying to convince his brother to tell hiain and his voice cracked, soan repeating to his brother, “I will” Then he wasDante promise to watch out for everyone… he rattled off one name after another and I felt my insides warm as I realized what all those names meant

Aleks had people who cared about hinus… and from the sounds of it, it was a lot of people

I hidso at whatever his brother said in response and I wanted to kiss Dante for steering the conversation in a different direction

When it came tiain “I love you, meu melhor,” he murmured

Whatever Dante said had hi up the phone after saying goodbye to both his brother and Magnus When he handed it back to ain but before I could say anything, he was cli to his feet I stood as well Aleks cowered in the corner as he crossed his arms “Can I use the bathroom to clean up?” he asked

“You’re not a prisoner, Aleks,” I reminded him, but that only seemed to make him more tense “Yes,” I finally said when he didn’t move “Down the hall, first door on the left”

He waited until I stepped aside before he hurried past me When he reached the door, I called his name He paused but didn’t look at me

“Thank you for trusting me, Aleks,” I said softly

He was silent for so long that I didn’t think he’d answer And I kind of wished he hadn’t because his next words cut me to the core

“I don’t” He paused for a beat and added, “I said I believed you but that doesn’t mean I trust you” He shook his head “I don’t… not anyhn”

And with that, he left the room

Chapter 4

Aleks