Fawn's POV
Ren's eyes went wide, his mouth opening slightly before he caught himself. Takeshi stared at me like I'd just pulled a loaded gun out of my purse and set it on the table between us.
The silence stretched, thick and suffocating, until Takeshi finally spoke, his voice barely held together.
"Anata wa... Nihongo ga hanasemasu ka?" You... speak Japanese?
I nodded once. "Hai. Soshite, anata ga nani ka ni nayonde iru koto mo wakatte imasu." Yes. And I understand that you're troubled by something. I was giving them the chance to come clean.
Blake hadn't moved. Hadn't spoken. I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my face, could practically hear the questions piling up behind his silence.
But I didn't look at him.
I kept my eyes on Takeshi, kept my voice gentle, and waited
