“I will keep her safe. It’s hard to sleep with men looking in the windows.” A pause. “Trigger… if he can’t reach Rylie, he’ll reach for leverage.”
“I know.”
“You sure you’re clear out there?”
I scanned the windows again. The door. The walls.
The woods didn’t move.
But I felt them anyway.
“We’re clear,” I said. “For now.”
Static hissed softly.
Then Wolf said, quieter, “He’s not going to stop.”
“No,” I agreed. “He won’t.”
The radio went silent.
I set it down slowly and leaned back just enough to ease the tension in my shoulders without losing readiness. My gaze drifted back to Rylie.
She was still asleep.
Still safe.
For the moment.
I stood and moved quietly across the room, every step measured. I didn’t rush. Rushing was for people who hadn’t learned patience the hard way.
I stopped beside the couch.
Up close, she was more beautiful. Softer. Like the weight she carried during the day loosened its grip when she slept. A strand of hair had fallen loose from her braid and brushed her cheek. She was so different when we first met. Carefree, laughing all the time. I’ll make sure she gets back to that.
I resisted the urge to tuck her hair back.
Touching her felt like crossing a line I couldn’t uncross.
Instead, I adjusted the blanket, just enough to cover her shoulder where it had slipped.
She murmured something unintelligible and shifted closer to the back of the couch, like she was seeking something solid without knowing what it was.
That something was supposed to be me.
And that scared the hell out of me.
I straightened and went to the back window, peering out through a narrow gap in the curtain.
The forest stared back.
Dark. Still.
Waiting.
Thomas wasn’t here.
But he was closer than he had been before.
