Just an inch.
Just enough.
Her forehead brushes my collarbone like her body decided before her brain did.
I catch her before she can fold.
One arm around her shoulders.
One hand at her back, fingers splayed, holding her towel in place so she doesn’t have to.
She lets out a sound—soft, small, horrible.
A sound I’ve never heard from her.
A sound that makes me want to burn the world down to keep her safe.
“I shouldn’t have stayed alone,” she chokes.
“No.”I press my cheek to her damp hair.“No, sweetheart.Don’t do that.Don’t blame yourself.”
Her fingers fist in my shirt.
“He was in my room.”
I close my eyes.
Every muscle in my body tightens.
Kael returns, jaw clenched, phone in hand.“Ops is on the way.Police too.”
Wren stiffens instantly.
“No,” she whispers.“No cops.”
Kael’s eyes soften.“Wren—”
“No police,” she repeats, voice shaking but firm.
Kael nods once, understanding the trauma beneath the words.“Okay.Then ops only.”
Atlas reappears in the doorway, chest heaving like he ran a marathon in a single breath.His eyes lock onto Wren in my arms.
Rage.
Relief.
Fear.
All of it poured into one look.
He wipes his face with both hands like he can’t stand the feeling of his own skin.
“Get her dressed,” he mutters, voice shaking.“Then we’re leaving.All of us.”
Wren buries her face in my chest, trembling as the adrenaline finally breaks.
I hold her tighter.
