I sigh. It is a sound of defeat.
I walk to the coat rack. I grab my spare cashmere cardigan—charcoal grey, ridiculously expensive, kept for donor meetings.
I cross the tape line.
I step into the Exclusion Zone.
Carefully, so as not to wake him, I drape the cardigan over his shoulders.
Jax sighs, burrowing into the warmth. He murmurs something unintelligible—a name? A command?
I stand there for a moment, looking down at the back of his neck, where the dark curls curl against his skin.
"Idiot," I whisper affectionately.
I retreat to my side of the room. I grab my coat. I look at Frederick one last time.
I do not remove the t-shirt.
I leave the office, making sure the door clicks shut silently.
As I walk to the parking garage, I can still feel the ghost of his heat against my shoulder where he leaned over me.
I take out my phone. I open my calendar app.
Renovation End Date: January 1st.
Twenty-six days.
I am not going to survive twenty-six days.
Chapter 4
Supply Closet 4B
Jax
Iwake up smelling expensive wool and sandalwood.
For a second, I panic. I think I’m back in the barracks, or maybe in some stranger’s bed after a night I don't remember. But then my neck screams in protest, and I realize I’m still in the chair. In the office.
I peel my face off the desk. My cheek is stuck to a patient file.
I sit up, shivering. The basement is freezing, but I’m warm. There is something draped over my shoulders.
I pull it off. It’s a cardigan. Charcoal grey. Cashmere. It feels soft enough to be woven from clouds and money.
Maxwell.
I look at his side of the room. It’s empty. Pristine. The blue tape line on the floor mocks me.
He covered me up. The Ice King, who yesterday threatened to have me evicted for eating corn chips, tucked me in.
I bring the collar of the sweater to my nose. I can't help it. Itsmells like him—that crisp, clean scent of ozone and soap, with a hidden undercurrent of something darker. Like cedar.
"You’re losing it, O’Connell," I mutter, tossing the sweater onto my chair. "He probably just didn't want a frozen corpse stinking up his office."
I grab my stethoscope. Time to work.
