"Yes," my mother said. "And you know how she is."
I did. I knew exactly how she was.
"I'm coming, Mother," I said quietly. "Now I'm late."
I could hear her voice shriek with relief, almost crying. "Thank you, peach."
She hung up.
‘Peach.’
She'd used the nickname my biological father used to call me. The one she never said anymore because it reminded her of him, of what she'd lost, of the man she'd loved before Grayson came into our lives.
Without hesitating, I smiled. My body suddenly felt lighter, the weight on my chest easing just slightly.
The elevator chimed, and my head instantly snapped back to reality.
I had a whole army to face.
Alone.
Maybe not entirely alone.
Because the second the elevator doors slid open, I saw Brenda standing a few feet away, her back to me, her ph
