"Gav." Dex's voice was quieter than usual. The kind of quiet that meant something was about to cost one of them. "Got a second?"
The war room emptied outside of them both. Of all the things Dex could have asked him, this was the one Gav had been dreading.
Dex had pulled him aside a day ago about Serena when she was still unconscious.
Gav looked up from the map he'd been studying.
"She's struggling with it," Dex said truthfully. "Understandable. I wanted to see if you could talk with her. Someone she trusts. Not to sell her on me. Just to help her sort through it."
Gav studied his best friend's face. The desperation Dex was trying to hide and failing. The trust in his eyes, absolute and unearned in ways Dex would never know.
"You're asking me to do what you can't," Gav said.
"Yeah." Dex held his gaze. "I am. You have a talent for making the heavy feel light. And right now, she's carrying a lot." He paused, then added. "And you're the only person I'd trust with this."
