Pannera sent me on my way with Sebastian at my side once more. Only now, when he walked beside me I wondered why he was with me-for me, or because she ordered him to watch me and report back to her?

I hated thinking about him like that. Sebastian was my friend and, if the kiss he offered me was genuine, maybe had the potential to be more. I couldn't bear to live with the idea that everything he did was suspect.

"I have my people placed carefully," he said as we walked, ...