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“His name is Amsel,” I said “Apparently, it means ‘blackbird’ in German”

“Dane’s father was German”

“Yes He’s very proud of his heritage”

Her gaze snapped froh me I’d just referred to Dane in present tense

“Um, so, maybe I should take the baby,” I carefully insisted as I reached for Aht want to sit down”

Her gaze never left my face as she eased into a plush chair

I pulled in a deep breath Let it out slowly Then plunged forward

“Dane and I , to be exact Ethan, Amano, and Jackson were all present as witnesses Guests Whatever We kept it covert because of the probleinal investors Dane wanted to protect nant and before the blast at the resort”

Mikaela’s sculpted brows furrowed “I can’t believe he didn’t tell s from me as a rule We were very close”

“I understand It was just a really tense time, a volatile time It wasn’t a trust issue, Mikaela It was survival tactics Nothing personal”

“Sure Right” Though she didn’t look convinced And the hurt feelings were not only etched across her stunning features, they also laced her tone I felt wretched

“The thing is,” I forcedthe explosion has been insanely precarious Dangerous, mostly”

“I don’t understand Why? The Lux was destroyed Dane was killed What more could possibly have happened?”

“A lot” I didn’t have the heart to outline all of the insidiousness As it was, I could see she struggled to make sense of what I shared with her “Suffice it to say that Kyle—who e visited your market in Old Town—has taken it upon himself to protect me and Amsel As Amano did for Dane after Dane’s parents died”

“Dio mio That’s a horrible history to have repeated”