Chapter 106 Forbidden Admissions: Part 2

• The kitchen is mercifully empty when Tavin and I enter. My dress clings uncomfortably to my damp skin as I move to the wine cabinet, selecting a bottle without really looking at the label. It’s barely ten in the morning, but time feels meaningless against what’s happening between us.
• I pour myself a generous glass, watching the red slosh. When I turn, Tavin stands at his usual post near the door, but everything about his posture screams tension. His eyes stay fixed ahead, deliberately not looking at me, but I can see his hands clenched at his sides.
• The first sip of wine burns going down. I settle onto one of the counter stools, letting the alcohol warm my insides as memories of the hot tub replay in my mind. But other memories surface too—Efrem’s carefully controlled violence when dealing with betrayal, the calculated way he destroys those who cross him. The way he always seems to know, always two steps ahead.