The last person I ever expected to see at my door was Avery Brooke Prescott.
And yet—here she was.
I gripped the doorframe tighter than I meant to. My first thought wasn't why she was here. It was how.
"How the hell did you even find this place?" I asked before I could stop myself.
She tilted her head, smiling like I'd just asked a silly question. "I asked around. You're not that hard to track down, Kai. People talk."
I swallowed, my jaw stiff. Great. Just great.
Before I could shut the door, she leaned in a little, her voice softer. "Can I come in? Just for a bit? I've been walking around all morning trying to get here… it'd be cruel to send me back now, don't you think?"
I froze. She said it so simply, like she wasn't asking for much at all. And maybe she was right—it would feel cruel to tell her no when she'd made it all the way here. But every nerve in me screamed that letting her in was the worst possible idea.
Still… I stepped aside. Just barely.
