“No,” he said, the word low, edged with something grim. “Stephen’s not here.”
He hesitated, then leaned in, his voice a breath of thunder.
“James is.”
My heart stopped.
FORTY-SIX
CADEN
I absolutely thought sitting in that ice-cave, with Emma calling out for James, and then her nearly dying in my arms, was the epitome of my worst fucking nightmare.
Which it was, until I realized Emma and James would have their reunion inmyfucking bed.
My mind drifted back to the past forty hours, replaying how the asshole had ended up here.
After a tense phone call, James had appeared in Nepal where I had joined up with Stephen, following James’s instructions. Together, the three of us managed to figure out how to dismantle the Amplifier, and I made sure it was tested on my own translation to confirm its destruction—something I made sure Emma would never find out.
When James arrived and saw me, it took him less than two seconds to ask, eyes wild and full of worry, “Where is she?”
As soon as I told him about the hypothermia, the famous Walker-switch flipped. He went absolutely feral. I had neverseen a man lose control like that—well, not since I’d held Emma nearly dying in my arms.
The day we destroyed the Amplifier, James stormed into my room at Stephen’s place, all sharp edges and purpose.
“You love her, don’t you?” he asked—no preamble, just a blade slicing straight through the bullshit.
I froze, caught off guard. For a moment, I said nothing. Then, dryly, I replied, “She loves you.”
“That’s not what I asked,” he shot back.
“That’s all the reply you’re gonna get,” I said, my tone flat but firm.
James’s gaze darkened, his voice dropping to a possessive growl. “She’s mine.”
“For the time being, that seems to be true,” I responded, taking a deliberate step closer to him. “But if you hurt her again, Walker, you’ll regret it in more ways than one.”
And that’s when I saw it—the agony etched into his expression. It was raw and undeniable, and in that moment, I understood the rage and desperation driving him.
Which is why, when he asked for access to Crown, I couldn’t bring myself to deny him.
I knew how much Emma longed to see him, and I couldn’t deny her that either. It was tearing me up inside, but I knew it was the right thing to do.
After breaking the news to Emma about James being at Crown, I told her she could send for him whenever she was ready. Her expression had been unreadable, but as I stepped out of the room and the door clicked shut behind me, the sound of her muffled sobs stopped me dead in my tracks.
It took every ounce of restraint not to turn back, not to push the door open and pull her back into my arms, where she fucking belonged. But I knew I had to let her face this on her own. If she needed me—if she wantedme—she’d let me know.
So I walked away, and checked on Sean’s location instead. I found him alone on our favorite hillside just beyond the Manor—where the grass always seemed a little taller, the wind a little quieter. The sun was low, casting long golden streaks across the valley, painting the treetops in amber light. He sat with his arms loosely draped over his knees, staring out at the horizon like it might offer answers.
I walked over and lowered myself beside him, close but not crowding.
“Still thinking about that girl you once brought here,” I said, keeping my voice light, “only to realize it was her brother you were really after?”
The words came with a teasing lilt, but dread curled in my gut all the same.
Sean snorted, his usual sarcasm creeping through. “I only remember her brother.”
“I bet you do,” I replied with a faint smile, trying to hold on to the banter, but it felt fake. The humor didn’t land the way it usually did, since we both knew what was coming.
