"I'm sorry," he murmurs. "For not telling you things. For trying to protect you from information instead of trusting you with it."
"I understand why you did it. I just need you to do better."
"I will." He presses a kiss to my forehead. "I promise."
We lie in silence, the basement cool and quiet around us.
My body is pleasantly sore, my mind finally quiet for the first time in days.
Between the deadline and the fight and the explosive makeup sex, I'm utterly exhausted.
RJ's breathing evens out, deep and steady and soon enough he's asleep.
I should sleep too.
I know I should. But my mind keeps circling back to what he said—there's a threat beyond the Krajncs. Something local.
What threat? From who? Why won't anyone tell me?
I lie there for another twenty minutes, trying to quiet my thoughts.
It doesn't work.
Coffee. I need coffee.
There's a little café about a mile down the road—I passed it when we drove in from the airport.
It'll be a quick trip.
Fifteen minutes, tops.
RJ will never even know I was gone.
I slip out of bed carefully, pulling on jeans and a hoodie.
RJ doesn't stir.
The clubhouse is quiet as I creep through it, the bar mostly empty, just a few prospects playing cards in the corner.
None of them pay me any attention as I slip out the side door.
The night air is warm and thick, cicadas singing in the trees.
I walk quickly, keeping to the shoulder of the road, my mind still spinning with everything that happened today.
Njal's confession. RJ's declaration. The fight. The sex.
I am so fucking in love with you that it terrifies me.
The café is still open when I arrive thank the Gods, warm light spilling through the windows onto the empty sidewalk.
A bell chimes as I push through the door, and the barista—a tired-looking college kid with gauges in his ears—barely glances up from his phone.
"Vanilla latte, please."
I pay and settle onto a stool at the counter, letting the familiar routine soothe my frayed nerves.
The café is mostly empty at this hour, just an older man reading a newspaper in the corner and a woman on her laptop near the window.
