GABRIELLE’S POV
The car sank into silence after his words.
I could still feel them in the air, heavy and terrifying.
“Damon…” I whispered. “Tell me you didn’t kill anyone.”
He didn’t even look at me.
He sighed, lifted his hand, and pressed the partition button so the driver couldn’t hear us.
The quiet thickened.
“Forget about all that now,” he said.
I stared at him. “I can’t forget about that. I need to know.”
His jaw shifted slightly. “You need to calm down.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It wasn’t a question I care to answer right now.”
His tone was flat and cold.
The Damon from earlier—the one whose voice cracked when he couldn’t find me—was gone. This version of him felt like a wall I couldn’t see through.
He was back to the version I had when we first met.
My chest tighte
