My throat bobbed as I tried to swallow the sulfuric taste from my mouth, but I forced my gaze to remain unshakeable, even daring him to keep talking about how much of a monster I was just so he could see I didn’t care what he thought.

“No matter, there’s always a method to his madness,” he declared with a glimmer of humor swirling in his sky-clear eyes. “I’m curious, though, what part does the girl play in their crazy scheme?”

At being referred to directly, after watching us go ...