“Okay.” I pressed my cheek to his chest, holding him, as a river of fear and concern flowed from his end of the bond. I let it crash over me, trying to be quiet and solid, someone steady he could lean against for the moment.

He hit the Dial button, holding the phone to his ear and letting it ring. After a few seconds, a voice came over the line, and I felt Declan relax. “Sid, hey. I—” He had to clear his throat twice to get the words out, and even then they rasped low against my ear. “I tried to call Zoey, but she didn’t pick up. I just wanted to make sure everything was all right.”

I couldn’t quite make out what Sidney said, but Declan relaxed further, so Zoey must be okay. I kept my arms wrapped around him, gently scratching his back through the soft shirt.

He huffed out a sigh. “Can you ask her to leave her ringer on from now on, to save my sanity a bit?” Sid murmured some sort of assent and Declan cleared his throat again. “How are you? Both of you? Everything okay?”

They talked back and forth for a few minutes, until suddenly the conversation snagged and they both fell silent.

“I should let you go,” Declan said, his voice still that deep rasp. “Thanks for picking up. I…I hope you’re both safe and happy. That’s…” He pulled me tighter, resting his cheek against my hair. “That’s all I want. Okay? Let Zoey know I love her?”

This time I heard more of Sid’s voice, and it sounded wobbly, like she was trying not to cry. “I will. Take care and…please, Declan. Call again soon, okay?”

He murmured that he would, then he hung up, shoving the phone into his pocket. We stayed as we were for a while, Declan gently rocking me back and forth. The living room windows were open, letting in the city noise around us. Garbage trucks, dogs barking, and one of the neighbors had NPR cranked up, which seemed like a weird thing to blast, but maybe they had hearing issues. Or maybe they liked to rock out to All Things Considered.

“You okay?”

Declan didn’t respond at first, and when he did, his words were grudging. “I know it’s good to talk difficult things out, but it’s hard.”

“Yes, it is.”

He sighed, trying to cuddle me even closer, which I didn’t think was possible. “I’m worried about Zoey and Sid.”

“Understandable.”

“Nothing I could do about it—they’re going to handle things as they see fit.” Another, bigger sigh. “I’m afraid of Eva, of my dad. Of them finding me, or worse, hurting the people important to me.”

“Again, understandable.” I didn’t ask why it would be worse if other people were hurt, because I understood what he meant. I would rather take on Eva or Angus myself than watch them hurt Declan.

“I should be afraid.” He leaned back so I could see his face. “And I hate it because it makes me feel helpless. There’s nothing I can do.”