“Thank you,” he says.
“Get some sleep.” I head toward my bedroom, then pause. “Kai?”
“Yeah?”
“I'm glad you came here.”
His smile is slow and tired. “So am I.”
I close the door and lean against it. Through the thin wall, I hear him settling onto the couch.
He's here. In my apartment. Sleeping on my couch.
I should stay in my room. I should let him rest.
Instead, I grab an oversized t-shirt from my dresser, fill a glass of water, pad back out.
“Here,” I whisper, setting the water on the coffee table. “And this. It's clean. Might be small, but it's better than sleeping in blood.”
He takes the shirt, fingers brushing mine. I watch him shrug off the ruined button-down, pull my shirt over his head. It stretches across his shoulders, rides up at his waist. Something about seeing him in my clothes makes my stomach flip.
I pull the blanket up over his chest before I can stop myself. His eyes are already half-closed.
“Goodnight, Kai.”
“Goodnight, Em.”
I flee to my bedroom and close the door.
What am I doing? He's dangerous. He showed up covered in blood after beating information out of criminals. There are walls he hasn't let me past. He lives in a world I don't understand.
I climb into bed and stare at the ceiling.
He's also patient. Honest when it matters. He looks at me like I'm worth something.
He didn't kiss me. He could have. I would have let him. Instead, he held me and said we'd figure it out together.
The pros and cons chase each other in circles until they blur together.
The last thing I remember before sleep takes me is the sound of his breathing through the thin wall, steady and close.
CHAPTER 18
THE BEST DAY
EMMA
A floorboard creaks.My eyes open slowly, morning light filtering through thin curtains. It takes me a second to remember. Kai. My couch. My favorite oversized shirt stretched across his shoulders.
Last night rushes back. The blood on his hands. The confession I hadn't planned to make. The way he held me without pushing for more.
I lie still, listening. Another creak. Soft footsteps. In a space this small, every sound carries.
I grab my phone from the nightstand. Work in an hour. I should shower, get dressed, get on with my life.
Instead, I open my email and type a request for a comp day. I've been staying late for weeks. I've earned this.
The automated response comes back before I've set the phone down. Approved.
