“Harmony, listen to me. We’re going to figure this out. But right now, you need to breathe.”
I wanted to. I tried to. But fear curled like smoke into my lungs. Olivier was untouchable. He always had a crew of bodyguards around him, Nico was usually one of them.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “Why would Ravenhill hurt him? Why would Olivier come to me? Why now?”
Eric’s eyes softened, though something sharper flickered beneath. Something I didn’t recognize.
“I don’t know,” he murmured.
I looked back at Olivier on the floor. He looked so small, helpless, and broken. So unlike the boy who once laughed with me under summer trees, and the man whose anger had chased me for years.
“Becket, should we call 911?” I whispered, panic rising.
Becket already had his radio in hand. “I’m alerting dispatch, but EMS can’t reach the ridge until the plows clear Route 12. Storm conditions have all units delayed.”
Pierre’s voice came sharp and authoritative behind him. “Tell them we’re stabilizing the victim here. SQ can be on standby. We’re handling until the road opens.”
“We need answers before he wakes up,” he said quietly. “If Ravenhill is involved, we’re dealing with something strategic… not impulsive.”
Eric stiffened beside me. Becket’s phone buzzed. He glanced down. His expression darkened.
“What?” Pierre pressed.
Becket lifted the screen so his father could see.
“Trail cam picked up movement at the north fence line,” he said.
My heartbeat stuttered.
“Is it him?” I whispered.
Becket didn’t look away from the feed. “Could be.”
Eric stepped closer to me, shoulders squared, jaw tight. “Harmony stays here. With Asher.”
Asher appeared at the top of the stairs, his hair sticking up like he’d run his hands through it too many times.
“What’s going on?” he asked, voice low.
His eyes landed on Olivier bleeding and unconscious on the rug, and his expression snapped from confusion to something razor-sharp.
“Shit”, Asher muttered.
“Eric?”
“Yeah, Sunshine?”
“Don’t let him take you too. Whatever happens I want you safe,” I urged.
Emotion flashed across his face raw, fierce, and protective. “No one is taking me away from you,” he said like a promise.
“You stay here with Asher. I’ll head out with Dad and Becket to look for the son of a bitch.” And just like that, he left. Into the cold. Toward whatever waited at the fence line. I stood there, frozen. Olivier bleeding behind me. Eric walking toward danger. And for the first time since childhood, I whispered a prayer I hadn’t said in years.
Please. Please, don’t let me lose them both.
CHAPTER 55
Eric
