"Good.Tell her I'll need a statement when she's ready.And tell her...tell her I'm sorry we didn't move faster."
"Not your fault."
"Maybe not.But I should have seen this coming."She meets my eyes."Make sure it ends tonight, Hades.One way or another."
She leaves, taking her uniforms with her, and I finally let myself breathe.Ghost appears beside me, arms crossed.
"We got lucky."
"Luck had nothing to do with it.Isaacs knows which battles to fight."
"Still, we need to move fast on the rest.Ethan Morrison's still out there, probably panicking, probably planning his next move."
"Then we end it.Tonight."
Ghost doesn't argue.Just nods and heads for the war room, where I know the others are already gathering.
But first, I need to see her.
I slip back into the room where Evangeline's resting.Ruin's gone, leaving us alone.She's asleep now, her face relaxed despite the bruising, breathing steady.
I pull a chair close to the bed and sit, taking her uninjured hand in mine.
"It's almost over," I tell her, even though she can't hear me."Just one more thing to take care of, and then you're safe.Then we can start building that life we talked about."
Her fingers twitch in mine, and I wonder if she's dreaming.I hope they're good dreams, not nightmares about warehouses and torture.
I stay there until Ghost comes to get me, until duty pulls me away from the woman I love and toward the man who tried to destroy her.
* * *
Her eyes flutter open, unfocused at first, then finding me in the dim light.
"You're still here," she whispers.
"Told you I would be."
"The kids?"
"Still asleep.Willow and Natalia are watching them.They don't know anything yet."
She nods slightly then winces."What happens now?"
I could lie.Could tell her everything's fine, that Isaacs is handling it, that justice will take its course through proper channels.
But I've never lied to her, and I'm not starting now.
"Now I make sure he can never hurt you again."
"Hades—"
"I know what you're going to say.That I don't have to do this, that the police will handle it, that violence isn't the answer."I squeeze her hand gently."But, Angel, some things need to be finished by the people who started them."
"You didn't start this."
"Maybe not.But I'm going to finish it."
Tears well in her eyes."Just come home.Whatever you have to do, just come home after."
