Page 140 of Eternal Surrender

“Zachary and I went bar hopping in SoHo,” Blake added. “We were kind of wild.” He ran his fingers through his hair nervously.

“Well, let me know if you remember anything that you think might be relevant.” She looked over at me. “Does Blake know?”

“About me?” I asked. “Yes. Everyone does now.”

“William met with me, Sebastian and Anaïs earlier,” Blake explained, “and dropped the bombshell about what really happened to him.”

“How’s everyone taking it?” I asked.

“Pretty well,” Blake said, “though Sebastian’s having a hard time with it.”

“Me too,” Ingrid said.

“William’s been nothing but amazing,” Blake told her. “It’s important you know that.”

“He’s helping me too.” She turned her head toward me. “In so many ways.” Ingrid’s deep brown eyes held mine. “You always did remind me of Jadeon. I just couldn’t shake that feeling.”

Blake scrunched up his nose, gesturing his unspoken thoughts.

“I know,” Ingrid said, picking up on them, “Orpheus is in there too.”

“Great vote of confidence.” I folded my arms. “For the record, I feel like me, whatever that means.”

Ingrid turned back to Blake. “Can I get you anything?”

“You’ve already asked me that,” he said, “and the answer’s still no.”

“He can’t stay locked up in here all day,” Ingrid said.

“We need to keep track of him,” I said.

She frowned. “This room is so bare, it’ll drive him crazy.”

“I’m here!” Blake waved his hand and beamed a cheeky smile. “I could cut the sexual tension with a knife.”

I shook my head, quietly amused.

“So what now?” Blake asked, as though changing the subject would undo his last words.

“We’re all going to be working on this,” she said. “We have our work cut out, but nothing we can’t handle.”

“Isn’t Vanderbilt hounding you?” Blake asked.

“I’ve taken some personal days,” she said. “He seems okay with it.”

“Must be his imminent promotion keeping him happy.” He winked her way. “We’re lucky to have you, Ingrid.” He glanced over at the chessboard, the pieces set in their opening positions. “Tell Alex to prepare to be conquered.”

Ingrid kissed his forehead. “You’re family, you know that.”

He scooched down the bed and pulled the blankets up and over his head, his voice muffled from underneath. “Go find those bastards who are doing this, and stop being so uncharacteristically sensitive.”

Ingrid feigned being offended, resting her hands on her hips, smiling affectionately at Blake who was still hidden beneath the bedspread.

“Let’s join the others,” I mouthed.

She stared off at nothing, her thoughts seemingly racing. “How’s Alex going to react when he sees me?”

“He’ll be fine,” I said. “I’ve had a long chat with him.”