They both look at me.
“I know I'm not—“ I swallow. “I know we haven't defined what this is. But I want to be there. Let me do this.”
Logan pins me with a serious stare. Then something softens in his expression. “Okay,” he says quietly. “We'll work out a schedule. Between the three of us, he won't be alone.”
“Thank you.”
Before any of us can speak again, the door at the end of the corridor swings open.
The man is someone I've only seen once briefly. One of Kai's inner circle. But seeing him now, I understand things I didn't before.
Maddox moves like a weapon. There's no wasted motion, no hesitation. Dark eyes scan the corridor, cataloging threats in a single sweep before landing on us. He's lean, all sharp angles and coiled tension, the kind of stillness that predators have before they strike. His face gives nothing away. Not concern, not fear. Just cold calculation.
I've seen men try to look dangerous. Maddox doesn't try. He simply is.
He stops in front of us. “Who's keeping him safe here?”
Logan frowns. “What do you mean? It's a private hospital.”
“You haven’t put it together yet? Someone tampered with his bike.” Maddox's words land like a grenade. “The brake line. Clean cut. This wasn't an accident.”
Ethan's face goes pale. Logan's jaw tightens, his hands curling into fists.
“You're sure?” Logan asks.
“I'm sure.” Maddox crosses his arms. “I can stay today, but we need private contractors. People we trust. I don't like the ones we have on retainer right now.”
My mind races to the only threat I know. “James,” I whisper. “Could he have?—“
Maddox shakes his head. “I've been tracking him since the night he showed up at your apartment. He hasn't been anywhere near Rhodes.” His eyes meet mine. “This wasn't him.”
“Then who?” Ethan asks.
Maddox's expression darkens. “That's what I'm going to find out.”
The corridor feels colder. Someone tried to kill Kai. Someone who isn't James. Someone we don't know yet.
I look through the window. He’s sleeping, bruised and broken but alive.
Someone tried to take him from us. And they're still out there.
CHAPTER 29
THE BREAKING POINT
EMMA
Three days since the accident.Three days of splitting myself between the office and the hospital, pretending I'm not falling apart at the seams.
I've developed a routine. Coffee at my desk by seven. Meetings, emails, storyboards until six. Grab my bag, take the bus to St. Catherine's, where the nurses know me by name now. Sit with Kai until he falls asleep, which doesn't take long with the painkillers. Go home to my empty apartment, stare at the ceiling until exhaustion wins, do it all again.
I haven't told him about work. About Miles. About any of it.
He has enough to worry about. Someone tried to kill him, and we still don't know who. Maddox is investigating. Logan and Ethan are taking turns with security. The last thing Kai needs is to hear that my career is circling the drain because I can't keep my mouth shut.
So I smile. I hold his hand. I tell him everything is fine.
I'm good at it.
