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I narrow my gaze. “I know I’m good at hacking, but—”
“I’m not talking about your skills as a hacker. I’m talking about your DNA.”
Sweat trickles down my spine. I shove the blanket off. “I’m not following.” Honestly, the room feels like it’s starting to spin.
“Do you know who your father is?”
My eyes roll in exasperation. “I told you, Frank is not my father.”
“Your biological father.”
What?! “No.”
“I do.”
“What does my sperm donor have to do with my situation?”
“Everything, Rylan.”
My gaze snaps away and fixes on the fire until Torben is back with a bandage and food, but I continue to say nothing.
Steffen stands. “I’m going to change your bandage.”
I don’t reply. He kneels and takes my ankle in his hand. I gasp at his touch—relieved I’m not alone in this chaos, but also pissed he’s at the center of it. Goosebumps spread over my body.
“Do you need more pain medicine?” Steffen asks. “The swelling is going down, but I can get you more. I ordered you a crutch, but my house is remote and deliveries take a few days.”
“Oddly, I like the pain,” I mutter. “It’s kind of the only thing that feels real right now.”
“The waters are rough right now, Rylan, but they will smooth out.”
“When it does, will I be at the bottom of the ocean?”
His hand stills, my tender ankle firmly in his palm. “That will never happen,” he states adamantly as he begins to coil the bandage around my ankle.
“You’re presenting yourself as a lifeboat, but I fear you have a map to an unknown destination, Steffen.”
He jolts when he hears me say his name. “Torben told you.”
“Mad?”
“More like relieved to hear you say it.”
“Why?”
He clips on the tiny metal clasp to keep the bandage in place. “Because I’ve been imagining the sound of it leaving your lips.”
My breath gets trapped in my throat. “That’s not an insane thing to say.”
“Men in love do insane things.”
“You don’t love me.” I shake my head.
“I’ve never been in love,” Steffen says, placing my foot back on the heated floor. Standing, he takes his seat again. “So I’m not sure what this feeling is, but I do know I’ve never felt it before.”
“People often say that the slide into madness can be fun,” I say with a stiff shrug.
His gaze is fixed on me. If he wants a reaction, I’ll keep it guarded.
