Unwanted Blood (Harper) novel Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Nobody talked about Marcus. Nobody mentioned the evidence or the footage or the phone number registered under my name.

The clatter of forks against cheap ceramic filled the air as we ate in silence. Lily jammed her spoon into the sugar bowl with unnecessary force, the granules spilling over the laminate table.

“This plunger doesn’t even hit the bottom,” she said, jerking the metal rod of Ethan’s French press upward until the dark liquid splashed against the glass. “It’s not for anyone who actually needs a morning coffee.”

Ethan didn’t look up from his plate. He carefully sliced a piece of bacon into three identical squares. “You pulled the mesh screen too fast. If you don’t let the grounds settle at a ninety-two-degree steep, you’re just drinking sediment. It’s basic extraction math, Lily.”

Lily’s head tilted back, her eyes tracking the water stain on the ceiling with a slow, exaggerated sweep.

Ryder sat with his shoulders rigid under his unbuttoned wool coat, his thumb tracing the handle of a mug he hadn’t touched. He cleared his throat, the sound sharp enough to stop Lily’s eyes halfway back down.

“The grind is too coarse for a mesh screen,” Ryder said, his voice flat. “A ‘paper filter would absorb the oils and fix the resistance. Switch the grind size before you buy another unit.”

I focused on the crust of my toast, scraping a flake of charred bread across the plate with the tip of my knife. The steam from my mug hit my chin, a small pocket of heat in a kitchen that smelled entirely of cold rain and old grease. Beside me, Ryder shifted his weight, his sleeve brushing against

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Chapter 28

mine-a heavy, expensive fabric that didn’t belong near a downtown sublet. Across the table, Ethan’s heavy boots were kicked out, his ankles crossed right next to Lily’s sneakers.

The bickering kept going, a low, steady hum about water temperature and paper weights that kept the walls from closing in. I swallowed the tea, letting the liquid burn my throat until the stiffness in my shoulders finall began to give way.

As I ate my eggs and listened to them bickering, I thought that this was the strangest breakfast I’d had in years. Strange, but not bad.

After breakfast, Lily pulled Ethan into the kitchen to wash up, which left Ryder and me alone in the living room with the particular quiet of two people who have too much to say and no good place to start.

He reached into his jacket pocket and set a small box on the table between

“It’s nothing,” he said. “I just saw it yesterday.”

I looked at the box and then at him.

“Open it,” he said, quieter.

Inside was a silver bracelet with a a single, four-pointed star charm hung from the center, catching the gray light from the window.

“The clerk at the shop called it the North Star,” Ryder murmured, his eyes fixed on the silver.

“She said it stays in the same quadrant, No matter how far the ships roll and stay in the same direction, no matter where you are.”

The room was very quiet.

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Chapter 24

I thought about every birthday that passed without a card. Every holiday I spent in a house that considered me a complication. Sixteen years of being treated like something the family had acquired by accident and couldn’t figure out how to return.

And now Ryder was sitting across from me with circles under his eyes and a small bracelet and an explanation about stars.

A sudden, sharp heat gathered behind my eyelids. I forced myself to blink, my jaw setting into a hard line as I pushed the velvet box back across the fabric.

“I can’t take this, Ryder.”

His hand stayed flat on the sofa, his fingers twitching slightly as the box bumped against his knuckles. His face went pale, the lines around his mouth were deep. But he didn’t argue. He didn’t tell me I was being ungrateful.

He just closed his fingers over the gray velvet, sliding it back into his pocket.

“Alright,” he said quietly. “I’ll hold onto it for now. Let me know when you are ready.”

Lily’s head appeared around the kitchen doorframe. She walked straight over, slid her arm through mine, and looked down at Ryder with her chin tilted up. “It’s time for you to go. She hasn’t slept more than four hours since Wednesday. She needs the room.”

Ryder stood up immediately, straightening his wrinkled shirt. He walked to the door, his hand resting on the brass knob before he paused, looking back over his shoulder. “Are you still registered for that baking seminar at the Gadigal Center this afternoon? The two o’clock?”

I froze, my hand dropping from Lily’s arm. “How do you know about

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