“Three times,” I admitted.
She smiled a little. “Why?”
I didn’t answer at first.
I sat beside her, elbows on my knees, staring at the floor.
Then I said the words I never planned to say out loud.
“Because I’ve seen this before.”
Her breath caught.
“Not… exactly this,” I clarified. “But close. Too close.”
She waited—silent, patient—letting me find the words.
I hadn’t talked about that case in years. Didn’t want to. Didn’t need to.
Until now.
“Before I came to Eagle River,” I said slowly, “I was stationed down south for a while. Worked with local law enforcement. Sometimes off the books, sometimes not.”
She nodded.
“There was a woman,” I continued. “She’d been reporting strange things for months. Someone watching her. Footsteps outside her window. Objects moved in her yard.”
I felt the old frustration, the old fury, stir hot beneath my ribs.
“Patrol thought she was exaggerating,” I said. “Neighbors thought she was paranoid. Her ex said she was dramatic.” My jaw tightened. “She wasn’t.”
Nora touched my hand lightly. “What happened?”
“He broke in,” I said. “Middle of the night. Took her. She was alive when we found her, but… not for long.”
Nora’s hand tightened around mine.
“I blamed myself,” I said quietly. “For not catching him sooner. For not staying at her house when she asked. For thinking she’d be okay one more night.”
A breath shook out of me.
“One more night was all he needed.”
Nora’s eyes glistened. “Wolf…”
I turned to her fully, letting her see the truth in my face.
“I’m not letting the same thing happen to you,” I said. “I’m not letting history repeat itself. Not with you. Not ever.”
She lifted her other hand and cupped my cheek gently—so gently I almost leaned into it without meaning to.
“You didn’t lose her,” Nora whispered. “That man took her. And whoever this is… he won’t take me because you’re here. Because you know what to look for. Because you care.”
My throat tightened.
Caring was the part I was trying not to admit.
But she said it like she already knew.
