He strides over to the sofa, then hesitates until I shift and pat the cushion beside me. He cuddles into the small space, and Micah smirks at the closeness, but doesn’t comment.
As we eat, he catches me up on all of the Rockford family gossip while updates filter through via texts to Gabriel’s phone. Tony’s people are scattering to neighboring cities. His money is drying up as accounts freeze. And his name is losing credibility with each passing hour.
“Sebastian says they found three more safe houses this morning,” Gabriel relays, scrolling through messages. “Empty but recently used. Tony’s running out of places to hide.”
Micah stays for another hour, his presence a balm I didn’t realize I needed. When he leaves with apromise to return tomorrow, I feel lighter, happy to have my friend back by my side.
I drift to the balcony doors, watching sunlight move across the manicured gardens below. The estate sprawls in all directions, acres of tended greenery insulating the manor from the city beyond its gates. Workers move between flower beds, their forms small from this height.
Gabriel joins me. “Penny for your thoughts?”
“Not worth that much,” I reply.
He leans into my side, giving me time to sort my thoughts.
“Tony’s still out there,” I say eventually, watching a gardener kneel beside a bed of late-blooming flowers. “This isn’t over.”
“No,” Gabriel agrees. “But he’s weakened now more than ever. His people are abandoning him.”
“Men like that are most dangerous when cornered.”
“True.” Gabriel shifts, turning to study my profile rather than the view. “But he’s one man against the combined resources of Rockford Holdings, not to mention Avery’s mercenaries are on the lookout for him, too. It’s only a matter of time before we catch him.”
Put that way, the odds sound almost comical.
Gabriel’s hand moves into my field of vision, palm up in silent offering. Not grabbing, not presuming, but inviting.
My hand lifts to meet his, palms sliding together, fingers interlocking without hesitation.
Gabriel’s thumb brushes over my knuckles in a soothing caress.
The danger isn’t gone. Tony remains a threat, his whereabouts unknown, his vendetta personal now that we’ve crippled his operation and killed his men.
But standing here with Gabriel’s hand in mine, I recognize the choice I’ve made. To stay. To be seen. To build something outside the cages that shaped me.
Not because I need protection or lack the strength to stand alone. Not because running has lost its appeal or fighting has lost its thrill.
But because, for the first time in my life, what lies behind me holds less power than what stands beside me, and what waits ahead is a future I choose rather than one forced upon me by circumstance or survival.
This moment isn’t about certainty or promises. It’s about commitment to possibility.
And as Gabriel’s fingers tighten around mine, I hold on tight.
EPILOGUE
GABRIEL
Adull ache still pulses from my ribs with each breath as Saint and Jade circle each other on the training mats.
Despite the climate-controlled room, sweat beads on Saint’s forehead, catching the morning light that streams through the high windows of the manor’s basement gym.
The gym holds the clean scent of leather and sweat, undercut by the faint chemical tang of disinfectant that lingers no matter how many bodies pass through.
Micah bounces on the balls of his feet on the mat, his excitement radiating through the room like electricity, while Jade tracks every movement.
“Keep your guard up,” I call to Micah, adjustingmy position on the bench to ease the pressure on my still-healing ribs.
The stitches came out three days ago, but the deeper tissue damage lingers, as does the sling, which means I’m sidelined while Saint gets back to training.
