Not rushed. Not angry. Deliberate.
“You touched Grace Hart,” Luke said. “On her porch.”
Rourke’s smile flickered—just barely.
Luke closed the distance until the bars were inches from his face.
“Let me be very clear,” he said quietly. “You don’t go anywhere near her. Not her house. Not her job. Not her street. Not her town.”
Rourke’s eyes sharpened, something calculating sliding into place.
“If I see you again,” Luke continued, voice even and controlled, “it won’t be a warning. It won’t be a conversation. I will bury you in charges so deep you won’t see daylight for a very long time.”
The smile didn’t disappear—but it thinned. Tightened.
“You’re awful sure of yourself for a small-town cop,” Rourke said.
Luke straightened.
“I’m sure of one thing,” he replied. “You don’t get to touch her again.”
Silence stretched between them—tight, electric.
“You’ll be arraigned in the morning,” Luke added over his shoulder as he turned away. “And when you make bail, you’re leaving Crystal Lake.”
He didn’t look back.
He’d done everything by the book.
Grace was safe. Eli was safe. The threat was contained.
CHAPTER 35
Grace
The ride home was quiet.
Luke drove with both hands on the wheel, steady and focused, the dash lights casting his face in soft blue. Grace sat in the passenger seat, her body finally starting to come down from the tight, buzzing edge it had been on all night. In the back, Eli leaned his head against the window, eyes half-closed, breath slow and shallow.
Grace watched Luke drive. The set of his shoulders. The calm confidence in his manner. Solid. Capable. Like nothing tonight had rattled him.
The car slowed as they turned onto her street. The houses were dark, porch lights few and far between, the road quiet and empty. Luke pulled into her driveway and parked, cutting the engine.
Luke stepped out first, circling around to the back of the cruiser, and opening the door for Eli.
Eli climbed out, rolling his shoulder once like he was testing the damage. “I’m good,” he said, catching Grace’s look before she could offer help. “Seriously.”
She nodded, relief loosening something tight in her chest.
Luke jogged ahead, unlocking Grace’s front door and holding it open as Eli passed.
Eli gave a short nod. “Thanks.” Then he went inside.
The door closed softly behind him, leaving just the two of them on the porch.
The night felt suddenly very quiet.
“You okay?” Luke asked.
