But the longer she stayed in his arms, the more the line between comfort and something else blurred.
Her breath stirred against his neck. His hand slid slightly along her back, fingers brushing the fabric of her shirt. She tensed again, not from discomfort, but something else. Something that mirrored the heat beginning to stir low in his gut.
She pulled back just enough to look up at him. Her eyes were dark and serious, her face still damp from the shower, her cheeks flushed. His gazedropped to her mouth before he could stop it.
This wasn’t what they were supposed to be doing. Not here. Not now. And yet neither of them moved.
“I know this isn’t smart,” she murmured.
“No,” he said, his voice rougher than he liked. “It’s not.”
Another second passed, the air between them thick with something they hadn’t invited but couldn’t ignore.
Then she took a step back.
He let her.
The space that opened between them felt too wide, but it was the right call.
Delaney ran a hand through her hair, avoiding his eyes. “We should probably eat something.”
Eli nodded, dragging in a breath to cool the fire that still lingered beneath his ribs. “Yeah. Food. Good idea.”
And maybe with a little distance, he could start remembering why that was supposed to be a bad idea in the first place.
Eli’s phone buzzed, cutting through the haze in his head that the heat had caused, and he took his cell from his pocket and checked the screen.
“It’s Noah,” he told her and answered it.
“If Delaney’s nearby, put me on speaker,” Noah immediately said. “She needs to hear this, too.”
Eli tapped the speaker button and set the phone on the counter. “Go ahead.”
“The van was empty,” Noah spelled outwithout preamble.
Eli let out a slow breath. Relief surged through him even as his jaw clenched. “So Ava is alive.”
“Maybe,” Noah confirmed. “But we still don’t know where the hell she is.”
Beside him, Delaney sagged back against the counter, her fingers curling around the edge. “What about the warrant?” she asked.
“Stalled. Again. Judge is claiming jurisdiction issues,” Noah said, his voice tight. “Someone is tying this up, and they’re doing a damn good job of it.” There was a pause. “I can give you both some downtime,” Noah added. “Catch your breath. Regroup.”
“No,” Delaney said immediately.
Eli met her eyes, saw the steel that had snapped back into place.
“Give us something to do,” she said. “Anything. We’ll take it.”
Noah didn’t argue. “I’m having everything Isla pulled loaded onto your cabins’ data screens. Background, financials, deep dives on every name connected to this operation. Grant, Vivian, the grandfather, and the staff at the institute. All of it.”
Eli turned toward the fireplace just as the screen disguised as a painting above it lit up. The soft glow washed over the room, and lines of data began to load across the display.
“You want us to look it over, see if anything jumps out,” Eli said.
“Exactly. You both know how to spotcracks better than most. Look for patterns, inconsistencies, anything that feels off. I’ll check back once I hear from Isla.”
“Copy that,” Eli assured him.
