Leylani collapses on the settee against a wall, and I perch beside her, hoping nobody else will come in to interrupt us.

“A client’s missing, I think,” Leylani starts, hesitantly. “I haven’t seen him in a few days.”

If she’s speaking about Vuk, I’ll have to tread carefully. “That’s not that unusual, right?”

“For most clients, of course not. But…”

“He’s become more than a client,” I finish, my heart sinking. She must see him outside of Zenith, if he only comes here every other month.

“Yeah.” She sniffs. “I even went to see him today but no one answered. They say he’s gone out of town, but he wouldn’t just leave without telling me.” She turns, her watery green eyes boring into mine. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you tonight anyway. You saw Vuk on Thursday, didn’t you?”

My tongue freezes in my mouth. “Y-yes,” I say. The palms of my hands begin to sweat.

She doesn’t look away. “Did he seem disappointed that I couldn’t come? I really wanted to, but I was … really unwell.” She looks down and away, and I frown. What is she hiding?

“Yes, he missed you,” I say, hoping that was true. The files the police have on Vuk were relatively light, and Tila refused to speak about him. She pretended she’d never met him before, but I knew that was a lie. Don’t think about Tila just now. “Kept asking about you,” I add. “He didn’t seem to be interested in my company at all. He—he left early.”

Each word hurts to say as she looks at me with such hope. I wonder what Vuk was like. He was meant to work for the Ratel, but that didn’t mean he was incapable of kindness. Of love. And now he’s gone; supposedly killed by my sister.

“What was wrong with you, on Thursday?” I venture.

“I…” She hesitates, but she wants so desperately to tell someone that she blurts her secret in a rush. “I’m pregnant.”

I let out my breath in a whoosh. “Oh. Wow. Congratulations,” I say, my voice flat despite my best efforts, feeling sucker-punched.

“I know you never wanted kids, Echo, but I’m so happy about it. I was going to tell him on Friday, but I haven’t been able to find him. I’m so worried. Should I go to the police?”

The police already know where he is, I want to say. “I don’t know, Leylani. Maybe wait a little longer to see if he shows up. Maybe he had to go on an unexpected business trip, and he’ll be back any time now.” The lies come surprisingly easy to me, despite my distaste for them. Maybe Tila and I have that in common, after all.