CHAPTER 6: Nowhere to Run

Twyla Nightveil’s POV

“Can I sleep at Grandma’s tonight?” I looked up from the medicine I was sorting, my fingers stopping over the small bottles on the kitchen counter. Xerius stood in front of me in his pajamas, his little hands clasped behind his back, his bluish-green eyes looking hopeful.

“Tonight?” I asked, and he nodded eagerly, his messy hair bouncing.

“Pwease, Mama? Grandma said I can stay. Grandpa said we can play with his little cars.” He beamed, dimples showing, and my heart squeezed.

Despite everything weighing on my mind, I couldn’t help smiling. “You really want to sleep there?”

“Yes.” He nodded again, then added in a smaller voice, “Just one night.”

I crouched in front of him and brushed his soft hair away from his forehead. “Okay. One night.”

His entire face lit up with excitement. “Really?”

“Really.”

He threw his little arms around my neck, squeezing tight. “Thank you, Mama!”

I hugged him tightly, closing my eyes for a moment. I should have been thinking about his medicine, about whether he had eaten enough, about whether his breathing sounded better tonight. Instead, one question kept circling through my mind.

“Why are you still working there?” Cody’s voice came back to me, low and frustrated. I told him I needed money. I wasn’t lying, but it wasn’t the whole truth. I needed money for Xerius’s medicine, for his doctor’s appointments, for everything he needed to keep him healthy. And I couldn’t tell Cody any of that. Not now. Not when he was already watching me so closely.

“Mama?” I opened my eyes. Xerius was staring at me, his little head tilted.

“What is it, baby?”

“You okay?” He reached out and touched my cheek gently.

My heart tightened. “Of course.”

“You look sad.”

I forced a smile and kissed his warm forehead. “I’m just tired.”

He studied my face like he wasn’t completely convinced. “I don’t like it when you’re sad or tired.”

I kissed his forehead again, my chest aching with love. “My little boy is so sweet. Come on. Let’s pack your things.”

By the time I dropped Xerius off at my parents’ house, the sky had already turned dark, heavy with storm clouds. He was excited about spending the night with his grandparents, but I still found myself lingering at the door, reluctant to leave him.

“Call me if you need anything, Mom,” I told my mother, and she smiled knowingly, patting my arm.

“We’ll take care of him. Go to work now.”

I nodded, stepping back. “Thanks, Mom.”

Xerius waved from the living room, already clutching one of his toy cars. “Bye, Mama!”

“Bye, baby.” I waved back before forcing myself to turn and leave.

I told myself it was fine. He was safe, he was with people I trusted, and for tonight I didn’t have to worry about rushing home before seven. I should have felt relieved.

Instead, Cody’s voice followed me all the way to Valtier Tower.

I arrived at Valtier Tower earlier than usual. The moment I stepped into the executive office, I knew I wasn’t going to have an easy day. A thick stack of documents was already waiting on my desk. I stared at it, then looked toward Cody’s office. The door was open, of course it was. I walked inside. He was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, one hand in his pocket, his phone pressed against his ear. He glanced at me once, his eyes dropping to the documents in my hands, then looked back out the window.

“Send the revised numbers by noon,” he said into the phone before ending the call and turning toward me. “Sit.”

I placed the documents on the desk, my eyebrows drawing together. “What is all this?”

“The Hale proposal.”

I frowned. “You already rejected it.”

“I did.” He leaned against the edge of his desk, watching me.

“Then why am I reviewing it?”

“Because I want to know exactly what we lose by rejecting it.”

I opened the first folder. It was a full investor analysis with financial projections, risk assessments, market expansion estimates, and alternative funding structures. This wasn’t a small report. “This will take hours.”

His mouth curved slightly, that familiar confident tilt. “Then you should start.”

I narrowed my eyes, realizing exactly what he was doing. “You did this on purpose.”

“Did what?” He feigned innocence, but his eyes danced.

“You gave me enough work to keep me here all day.”

His expression remained perfectly calm. “Is that a complaint?”

“Yes.”

“Then put it in writing.”

I stared at him and he stared back, that irritating smirk appearing. I hated that smirk. “Fine,” I muttered, pulling the chair out and sitting down. “But overtime costs extra.”

His eyebrow lifted. “Does it?”

“Yes.” I challenged him with a look.

“How much?”

I sat down and opened the first file. “Enough to make you regret keeping me here.”

A quiet laugh escaped him, low and warm. “Then work slowly.”

I looked up, confused. “What?”

“If you work slowly, you’ll earn more.”

I couldn’t stop the small smile that tugged at my lips despite myself. His eyes lingered on me for a moment too long before he turned away, and I lowered my gaze to the documents before he could notice how quickly my heart had started beating.

Hours passed and the office grew quieter as employees began leaving one by one. I barely noticed. The numbers demanded concentration, and for a while they were a welcome distraction from everything else. At six forty-five I checked the time. Normally I would have started packing, but tonight I didn’t have to. Xerius was safe with my parents, and for once I could finish what I was doing without constantly watching the clock. For once, I could let the numbers in front of me matter more than the time on the wall.

At seven I kept working, and at seven thirty Cody walked past my desk and stopped, his hands in his pockets.

“You’re still here. I thought you’d be running home.”

I didn’t look up from my papers. “You’re the one who gave me enough work to keep me here.”

His gaze stayed on me, heavy and unreadable. I could feel it even while pretending to read the report.

“Interesting,” he murmured.

The rain started shortly afterward. At first it was nothing more than a soft tapping against the windows, then it grew heavier, and by eight thirty it was pounding against the glass hard enough to drown out the distant sounds of the city. I finished the final section of the report and leaned back, stretching my shoulders. “Done.”

Cody looked up from his desk, setting his pen aside. “Finally.”

I gave him a flat look. “You’re welcome.”

He stood and walked toward me, his movements slow and deliberate. I closed my laptop instinctively. “I’ll send it to your email.”

“You’re leaving?” He glanced at my bag, then back at me.

I glanced at the clock. “Yes.”

He looked toward the windows where rain streaked down in sheets. “You’re not going anywhere in that.”

“I have to go home.” I stood, grabbing my bag.

His expression hardened, his jaw set firm. “The roads are flooding.”

“I’ll take a car.” I reached for my phone.

My phone suddenly pinged and I frowned, pulling it from my bag. There were already several notifications, then a message from my mother appeared.

The roads are flooded and closed. The road to our place is blocked too. Xerius is asleep, so don’t worry about coming here. Just stay somewhere safe tonight.

My stomach dropped as I stared at the message, my heart sinking.

I locked my phone before Cody could see the screen.

He noticed the change in my face immediately. “What happened?”

I forced myself to meet his eyes. “The roads are closed.”

“The roads around the tower are already being shut down.” He watched me carefully, his gaze searching.

I stood and grabbed my bag, my mind racing. “Where will you go?”

“I don’t know. Maybe a hotel.” I tried to sound confident, but my voice wavered.

“The hotel is closing early because of the storm.” His eyes narrowed as thunder rumbled outside.

I stared at him. Of course he would know. He probably had half the city monitored by now.

Cody looked at me for several long seconds, then said, “Come with me.”

My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag.

“Where?”

“My penthouse.”

My heart stopped.

Of all the places I could have been stranded tonight, that was the one place I never wanted to go.

Because being alone with Cody again was dangerous enough. Being alone with him somewhere private was something else entirely.