I lean into him, my forehead pressing against his chest. He smells like soap and steel and the kind of calm that only comes from being a very dangerous man.
“By morning,” Justin’s voice is low against my hair, “this will be over.”
I pull back just enough to look at him. “You can’t promise that.”
“I can promise you this. I’m going to do everything in my power to make those animals pay, then I’m going to come home to you.”
Home.
He cups the back of my neck, grounding me. “But I don’t want you alone tonight. Bethany and Lily are staying in the guest rooms. They won’t hover, but they’ll be here, keeping you company.
Gratitude floods me so fast it almost knocks the air out of my lungs. “Thank you.”
He nods once.
The quiet stretches. The house feels different now—tense, but held. Like it knows something is about to happen.
Justin leans down and kisses me.
It’s not hurried. It’s not gentle either. It’s deep and grounding and full of restraint that’s already wearing thin. My hands fist in his shirt. His breath changes. I feel it in the way his body responds, the way he presses closer like he wants to climb inside my skin and stay there.
“Stay,” I whisper, even though I know he can’t.
His mouth leaves mine. His forehead rests against mine. His hands slide to my waist, grip hard enough to make my knees weak.
“If I don’t leave now,” he growls roughly, “I won’t.”
The moment hangs there—raw, electric, dangerous.
His phone vibrates. Once. Twice.
He closes his eyes. Swears under his breath. Pulls the phone out like it physically pains him to break contact.
Silas’s name lights the screen.
Justin answers immediately. “Silas.”
I don’t hear Silas’s voice, but I hear the shift in Justin’s body. The way everything inside him snaps into focus.
“Send the coordinates. We’re on the way.”
He ends the call and looks at me, really looks at me, like he’s committing my face to memory. Like this moment matters more than the words he hasn’t said yet.
“This is it,” he tells me. “Silas found him.”
I nod, even though my chest feels too tight to draw a full breath and my hands have started to shake. I push them into his shirt, needing the contact, needing to feel something solid before he goes.
“Justin.” My voice catches despite my efforts to keep it steady. “Promise me you’ll stay safe,” I whisper. “That you won’t do anything reckless.”
His expression softens in a way that almost breaks me. He lifts my hands and presses them flat against his chest, right over his heart.
“I promise I’m coming back to you, Rowan.”
The words settle into me, warm and terrifying all at once.
He leans down and kisses my forehead one last time, like a vow rather than a goodbye. Then he pulls away, grabs the bag,and turns for the door before I can ask for more than he can give.
I watch him leave.
