Anja gave a small nod.“Get some rest.Both of you.”Then she slipped out, leaving the door gently closed behind her.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Chloe felt Kayne’s grip tighten again, more urgent this time.She looked at him and saw the worry there, raw and unguarded.
“I don’t want to let you go,” he said quietly.
Her breath caught, and she leaned closer, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead.“You don’t have to.”
His gaze searched her face.“This,” he gestured weakly between them, “almost losing you?Worst moment of my life.”
She bent and pressed her forehead to his, careful of the wires, the monitors, and the reality pressing in around them.“You didn’t lose me,” she whispered.“I’m still here.”
His eyes closed, just for a second.“Good,” he said.“Because I don’t think I’m built to survive that again.”
Her heart squeezed.Neither was she.
This time, when silence fell, it felt less like fear and more like a promise.
#
Kayne had always lovedthe work.He loved the clarity of it, the clean lines between threat and safety, and the way chaos sharpened his focus instead of dulling it.He loved COBRA Securities, the unspoken trust, the knowledge that if everything went sideways, the people beside him would move without hesitation, as Anja had in the basement.COBRA Securities wasn’t just a job.It was his family.The one he’d chosen.The one that had chosen him back.
The work had purpose.It mattered.It saved lives.
And until Chloe, he’d never questioned whether it would always be enough.
He turned his head slightly, careful of the ache that still pulsed through his abdomen, and looked at her sitting there beside him.Her hair had been pulled back hastily.Her beautiful blue eyes were still rimmed red, and her hand was wrapped tightly around his.
His heart squeezed.
“I’ve been thinkin’,” he said quietly.
Her brows lifted, wary and curious.“That sounds dangerous.”
He huffed a soft breath.“Usually is.”
He shifted his grip, threading his fingers more securely through hers.“I love my job and the people I work with.COBRA Securities is my family.They gave me a place where I fit.Where I was good at somethin’ that mattered.”
She listened without interrupting, her thumb brushing slowly over his knuckles.
“But I’d give it up,” he said simply.“Every bit of it.”
Her breath caught.“Kayne.”
“I’m not sayin’ it lightly,” he went on, voice steady, even as his heart kicked hard.“I know what walkin’ away means.I know who I’d be leavin’.”He swallowed once, then went on.“But I also know this.”He lifted their joined hands slightly.“I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”
Her eyes shone, unshed tears gathering again.
“I love you,” he said, the words landing with quiet certainty.“Not the adrenaline-filled version from the last few days.Not the temporary, crosshairs kind.The real one.The stay and build-a-life kind.The wake up next to you when things are boring and hard and beautiful anyway.”
Chloe’s lips trembled.
“I want to spend my life with you,” he continued.“And if that means walkin’ away from COBRA Securities, then I’ll do it.I’ll help you run the gym.I’ll stand at the door and make sure no one ever hurts you again.I’ll spot clients, fix equipment, sweep floors if that’s what it takes.”
A soft, disbelieving laugh slipped out of her, wet and shaky.“You?Sweeping floors?”she teased gently.
“I’m excellent with a broom,” he said solemnly.“Highly underrated skill.”
