"Interesting how?" I asked, my stomach doing something uneasy.
Noah slid his phone back into his pocket, and when he looked at me, whatever coldness had been sitting behind his eyes a moment ago had already softened back into something more careful, more aware of how close I still was to the wound Ava had just reopened.
"Interesting enough that I'll look into it properly," he said. "Not tonight. Not while you're standing here still catching your breath from what she just said to you."
"You don't have to protect me from information." I crossed my arms, more defensive than I meant to be. "I've spent a year finding out things the hard way. I'd rather know than be managed."
Something shifted in his expression— not quite an apology, but an acknowledgment. "Noted. For what it's worth, I wasn
