Damian's POV
I looked at Lena across the library.
She was very still. The book closed in her lap, her eyes on me, processing the information with the focused calm she brought to things that required it.
"He wants me there," she said.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"He didn't say." I looked at the phone in my hand. "Which is itself information."
She held my gaze. "You think it's a trap."
"I think Marcus doesn't do anything without a reason," I said. "And I think whatever the reason is, it involves you specifically." I paused. "Which means I'm not taking you."
"And if that's exactly what he's counting on?" she said.
I looked at her.
"If he knows you'll leave me behind," she said, "then whatever he needs to say — whatever he wants to happen in that room — he's planned around my absence." She held m
