Want to tell him not to do anything stupid.
But the darkness is pulling at me now.
Heavy and warm.
"Stay awake, Ingrid. Stay with me."
I try.
I really try.
But the pain is too much.
The fear is too much.
Everything is too much.
The last thing I hear before the darkness takes me is my father's voice—breaking, desperate, the VP mask completely shattered. "Don't you leave me, baby girl. Don't you dare leave me."
Then nothing.
Just silence.
And darkness.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Gunnar
The house smells like home.
It's strange how fast that happened—how a space that was empty two weeks ago now feels like the place I'm supposed to be.
Ingrid's touches are everywhere.
The throw pillows she picked out.
The plants on the windowsill.
The photos of us she's already hung on the walls.
Our life, taking shape around us.
Mom's sitting on the new couch—the sectional Ingrid wanted, the one that fits ten people—surrounded by the housewarming gifts she brought.
Dish towels.
A casserole dish.
A framed print that says "Home Is Where the Heart Is" in cursive script.
"Your father wanted to come," she says, unwrapping another gift. "But he’s been doing some digging into the traffickers for Runes and didn’t want to lose his mojo."
"It's fine. Tell him thanks for everything."
"You can tell him yourself at Sunday dinner." She smiles. "Ingrid's coming, right? Your father's been dying to grill her about wedding plans."
"She'll be there. She's just finishing up at work."
