I look through the peephole.
Carter looks like hell. Rumpled shirt, wild hair, dark circles under his eyes.
"I know you're there." His voice cracks. "I know you probably hate me." He presses his forehead against the door. "I can't let anyone hurt you. Either of you. Please."
My hand is on the lock.
Akari moves up beside me. "Are you sure?"
No. I'm not sure of anything. I'm not sure I can look at him without falling apart. I'm not sure I can smell him without every wall I've built crumbling to dust.
But I'm also not sure I can keep running forever, and he's here, and he knows. It doesn’t matter whether I let Carter in or not.
I open the door.
His scent hits me first. That glorious winter stillness, six months of deprivation making it overwhelming, making my knees buckle and my heart slam against my ribs.
Then his eyes drop to my belly.
I watch it happen, the moment it becomes real for him. Me, standing in front of him, six months pregnant and terrified and so angry I could scream.
His face does something complicated, and for moment I see a hunger so naked it makes me look away.
"Jamie." My name sounds like it's being torn out of him. "I didn't know. I swear to God, I didn't know."
He's still staring at my belly. His hand twitches like he wants to reach for me, and I take a step back. He flinches. "Jamie, you have to listen to me. Warren showed me a picture of you. He threatened to destroy us both if I didn't fall in line. I told him to go to hell, but that means he's going to move. Soon. Tonight, maybe."
"I know. He's already been in contact." I gesture vaguely toward my cracked phone. "Forty-eight hours to leave town or he tells everyone."
"Then we don't have much time."
"We?"
"Yes. We." He finally drags his gaze up from my belly to my face. "I'm not leaving you alone with this. I'm not—" He swallows hard. "You were right. About everything. My father admitted it. The money laundering, the bribes, all of it. Everything you wrote was true, and I defended him, and I called you a liar, and I'm so fucking sorry, Jamie. I'm so sorry."
The words hit me like a wave.
Behind me, Akari makes a small sound. I'd almost forgotten she was there.
I stand in the doorway, one hand on my belly, and stare at the man I've spent months trying to hate.
He looks back at me with eyes full of devastation and desperate hope.
I still don't know if I can trust him.
But I'm out of options, and Carter is here, and he said I was right.
20. Carter
"I'll give you two a minute."
A woman’s voice cuts through the charged silence. She’s tall, dark-haired, her stance protective. Her eyes are flicking between Jamie and me like she's calculating exactly how much damage she could inflict if I make a wrong move. This must be the roommate. I like her.
She sets a knife on the counter with a deliberate click and disappears down a narrow hallway. A door closes. We're alone.
Jamie stands in front of me, one hand braced on the doorframe like he needs it to stay upright.
His apartment is smaller than I expected. There’s a cramped living room with mismatched furniture, a small kitchen and a window that looks out onto the street below.
