My lungs locked.
Daphne’s voice broke completely.
“Until she stopped moving.”
The world collapsed inward.
“Just... slept on the floor.”
Silence swallowed the room.
Blood.
Stomach.
Bleeding.
Unconscious.
My mind processed the implications instantly.
Pregnancy.
Trauma.
Internal damage.
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
I lowered my head and pressed my lips to the top of her hair.
The scent of baby shampoo mixed with smoke and fear filled my lungs.
She still smelled like safety.
My free hand curled into a fist so hard my knuckles cracked audibly.
The sound echoed through the silent house.
Three years.
Three years since Vasquez and Harris had been forced out of this estate.
I had believed that defeat would break them.
I had believed pride would keep them away.
I had been wrong.
They hadn’t retreated.
They had retreated strategically.
Waiting.
Watching.
Studying every weakness.
