“Nobody had to.” His smirk fades. “You don’t think I notice when one of my own is pulling away?”
I shake my head, grabbing a clean shirt from the back of a chair and yanking it over my head. “It’s a good job. Pays well.”
Damon doesn’t look convinced. “You think putting an ocean between you and Mia is gonna change anything?”
“Doesn’t have to change anything,” I mutter.
Damon steps closer, lowering his voice. “Bullshit.”
I meet his gaze, jaw tight.
Damon exhales sharply, running a hand down his face. “Look, whatever’s going on between you, her, and Zane…” He trails off, shaking his head. “This isn’t the time to self-destruct.”
I huff a bitter laugh. “Maybe the time for that passed a long time ago.”
Damon’s eyes darken. “You leaving won’t protect her from Jason.”
“I know that.”
“Then why are you running?”
I don’t answer. I don’t have an answer.
Damon curses under his breath, shaking his head. “Fine. But at least help me figure out how Jason keeps finding us before you disappear.”
I nod, grateful for the change of subject. “Already planning on it.”
But as I follow Damon into the security room, my mind isn’t on Jason. It’s on Mia. On the way she looked at me before walking away.
And how I might regret letting her go more than anything else.
CHAPTER 19
MIA
The tensionin the house is suffocating.
I sit on the edge of the bed, rubbing my temples as exhaustion settles deep in my bones. The safehouse might be miles from civilization, but it doesn’t feel safe. Not really. Not when the men protecting me—protecting my daughters—are unraveling at the seams.
I don’t know when I became the fault line cracking them apart. But I can feel it. In the way Asher barely looks at me, in the way Zane keeps a distance even after what happened between us, in the way Damon watches but doesn't step in.
They've worked together for years. Had each other’s backs in situations worse than this. And now they're falling apart because of me?
It doesn't seem right.
I exhale, staring out the window at the lake. The water is still, untouched, mirroring the sky in an eerie, perfect reflection.
I wish things could go back to the way they were before. Before I kissed Asher. Before Zane touched me like he wanted more than just a job. Before Damon reminded me of everything we never had the chance to be.
I should have been smarter. More careful. Instead, I let my emotions get the best of me, and now the men who were supposed to be my protectors—the men I care about—are at each other's throats.
A door slams somewhere in the house. Footsteps stomp heavy against the wooden floor. My stomach tightens.
I can’t let this continue. I have to fix it.
For them. For the twins. For myself.
Before the fractures between them become too deep to mend.
