“Marcel did that to himself,” I shot back, even as fear clawed up my spine.
His jaw twitched. “Watch your mouth.”
He grabbed my chin, forcing my head up until I had no choice but to meet his gaze. His grip was punishing.
“Still think you’re better than us?” he said. “You think flipping on him made you clean?” His lips curled. “You’re just a pawn who forgot who pulls the strings.”
The room spun. My shoulder throbbed where he’d shoved me, heat and ache radiating down my arm.
Then—
“Get your hands off her,” Eric’s voice cut through the shop like a blade.
Olivier barely had time to turn before Eric’s fist connected with his jaw. The sound cracked loud in the enclosed space. Olivier staggered back into a display table, glass shattering as flower vases crashed to the floor. Eric didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Olivier by the collar and slammed him onto the counter hard enough the wood groaned.
“You touch her again,” Eric growled, voice low and lethal, “and you’ll regret it.”
Olivier spat blood onto the tile and laughed, broken and ugly. “You think you can protect her?” he rasped. “You have no idea what you’re stepping into, Thorne.”
Eric leaned in, forearm pressing into Olivier’s throat. “Try me,” he said calmly. “Because she is not alone. Not anymore.”
Movement flickered in the doorway.
Nico.
He stepped inside like he owned the place, rain dripping from his jacket, expression unreadable. He grabbed Olivier’s arm.
“Enough,” Nico said quietly. “You’ve made your point.”
Olivier shoved him off. “This isn’t over.”
Nico held his gaze for a long second, then looked at me. Something like pity crossed his face, quick and fleeting.
“You shouldn’t have come back, Harmony,” he said softly. “Not while he’s still breathing.”
Eric shifted, placing himself fully in front of me, broad shoulders blocking my view. “If you’ve got something to say,” he said evenly, “say it to me.”
Nico’s eyes hardened. “Then keep her close.”
He hauled Olivier backward toward the door. Rain and fog swallowed them as they disappeared into the street, their footsteps fading until only the drip of water and my ragged breathing remained.
Silence flooded the shop.
Eric turned to me instantly. “Are you hurt?”
“My shoulder,” I admitted, my voice shaking now the danger had passed.
He touched me gently, carefully, his thumb brushing my wrist as he checked my arm. “We’re leaving,” he said. “Now.”
Outside, the rain had shifted, thinning into something lighter. As we stepped onto the sidewalk, the first flakes of snow drifted down softly, almost pretty. Eric guided me toward the truck, his hand firm at my back, steadying me with every step. Behind us, Main Street stood quiet again. I knew the truth deep in my bones. My father’s shadow had found its way back to Val-Du-Lys. And this time, it was out for revenge.
CHAPTER 22
Harmony
That night Eric brought me back to one of the worker cabins on the property. He figured if we were being watched, it was better we moved locations and didn’t stay in one spot. I was sitting on the bed in the cabin, while Eric sat across from me at the small cabin table, his coffee untouched, his posture rigid in a way that told me he hadn’t slept. The frost still clung to the windows, but the tension between us had nothing to do with the cold. He’d gone over the confrontation with Olivier three times already; what he said, how fast it escalated, where Nico had stepped in. Each time his jaw tightened like he was searching for a mistake he could fix after the fact.
“He wanted a reaction,” Eric said finally, rubbing a hand over his face. “Not just fear. Control. If this was just about your father, he’d have stayed in the shadows. Showing up like that means he’s testing boundaries.”
