"You were worth more," I say hoarsely. "I got a bargain."
She stares at me. The fear of the attack is receding, replaced by the enormity of this revelation.
"Why?" she asks. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you let me hate you?"
"Because Iamhateful," I say. "Paying a debt doesn't make me a saint, Ivy. I still took you. I still chained you to a bed."
"You took me to save me," she corrects me. She gestures to the memo about the extraction. "It says right here.Risk of asset loss: CRITICAL.You knew Nikolai was coming for me."
"I couldn't let him have you."
"So you became the villain to protect me from the monster," she whispers.
She reaches out. Her hand—still trembling, stained with gun oil—touches my cheek. Her thumb traces the scar.
"You’re not the wolf," she says softly. "You’re the wall."
The words hit me harder than a bullet.
The wall.
The thing that stands between the innocent and the dark. The thing that takes the blows so she doesn't have to.
I close my eyes, leaning into her touch. I feel a crack in my chest, a fissure in the armor I have worn since I was twelve years old.
"I tried to stay away," I admit, my voice rough. "For four years, I stayed in the shadows. I watched you grow. I watched you paint. I told myself it was enough just to keep you safe from a distance."
I open my eyes. The blue fire is dim now, replaced by a burning need.
"But then Marcus got desperate. And I knew... I knew if I touched you, just once, I would never be able to let you go."
"You were right," she says.
"Yes."
I stand up, pulling her with me. She is unsteady on her feet.
"We have to go," I say. "The house isn't safe. The perimeter is compromised."
"Where?" she asks.
"The safe room. In the bunker. It’s the only place I can guarantee."
I look at the dead man in the doorway. I look at the blood on the antique rug.
"Don't look," I command, shielding her eyes with my hand as I guide her toward the door.
"Silas," she says, stopping me.
I look down at her.
"Thank you," she whispers.
"For what?"
"For saving me. Then. And now."
She leans up and kisses me.
