Ryder is leaning against the doorway, trying to look casual, like he’s not coiled tight beneath the surface. He hasn’t said much, but he doesn’t need to. The silence between us has weight now, the kind that comes when something precious is about to arrive and neither of us knows what shape the aftermath will take.
Addison.
The thought of her alone twists my chest. For weeks, she has been a voice breaking through static, trapped across an ocean, hunted and alone. Now she’s on her way here, and I’m barely able to hold myself together.
I tighten my hold on Julian and swallow hard just as the sound of tires on gravel reaches us. My breath catches, and Ryder’s head lifts immediately, his posture sharpening. I move to the window so fast I nearly trip over my own feet.
A black SUV crests the drive, dust rising behind it like a wake with Jace behind the wheel. It slows to a stop, my heart stops as the passenger door opens, and there she is.
Addison Avery Sinclair steps out like she’s emerging from a warzone because she is. Her hair is pulled back, sunglasses hiding her eyes even though the day isn’t bright enough to require them, shoulders squared like armor. She looks thinner and tighter, like she’s been running on adrenaline for too long.
Then she lifts her head, our eyes meet, and something in her face breaks.
“Kate,” she breathes.
I don’t walk—I run, Julian bouncing against my chest as my boots hit the porch steps too fast, the world narrowing down to my best friend. “Addison!”
She barely has time to take a second step before I’m there, colliding with her so hard she staggers, both of us clutching each other like we’re drowning.
“You’re alive,” I choke out, voice cracking.
“You’re alive,” she sobs back, laughing and crying at the same time. “I thought— oh God Kate, I thought I was going to—“
“Don’t,” I gasp, pulling back just enough to see her face. “Don’t you dare.”
Her sunglasses are gone now, and her eyes are bright with tears—fierce and exhausted. “I’m here,” she consoles. “I’m here.”
I make a sound that isn’t words and hug her again, harder, like if I let go, she’ll vanish. Julian chooses that moment to let out a curious little noise, and Addison freezes. Her gaze drops, landing on her godson sandwiched between us.
She reaches out carefully, her fingers brushing Julian’s cheek. He stares at her with wide seriousness, then smiles—gummy and perfect.
Addison makes a broken sound. “Hi, baby,” she murmurs, kissing his forehead gently. “Hi. I’ve been trying to get to you.”
Tears spill down my cheeks freely now.
Behind her, Jace steps out of the driver’s side. His voice is calm when he speaks, addressing Ryder, who is watching us from the porch. “I lost the tail, but it’s only a matter of time before they catch up.”
Addison exhales shakily, pressing her forehead briefly against mine. “We’re going to be okay, right?” she asks, voice shaking.
I swallow, heart aching with the enormity of her being here. I glance past her to Ryder, who’s watching us with a feral and protective look in his eyes.
“Yes,” I nod, because if there’s one thing I believe in, it’s that Ryder is going to keep us safe.
I take her hand and lead her towards the house. I hand Julian to Ryder before leading Addison into the house and up the stairs. There will be time for introductions later.
It isn’t until the door closes behind us that Addison finally breaks. All the adrenaline that has carried her across oceans, airports, and highways has nowhere left to go now, so it leaks out through shaking fingers and a long, shuddering exhale. I let her have a moment before she turns to me, eyes bright with fury and fear.
“Kate, what the fuck? I feel like we’re living in a movie. Since when did our lives become a series of hit lists, extractions, and bombings?”
My shoulders sag as the weight of everything weighs on me. “I know. I’m just as confused and rattled as you are, if not more.”
I sit slowly on the edge of the bed, hands twisting together in my lap because I don’t know where else to put them. Addison paces once, then stops so abruptly to face me. “I sent you to him,” she continues, voice cracking. “Do you understand that? I sentyoutohim.”
My throat tightens painfully. “I know.”
Her eyes flash. “I told you to go because I thought he was the only chance you had, as his name wasn’t on the kill list. But I didn’t think he’d be the cause of all this. Now his house was bombed, you’re here in the middle of fucking Texas, and—“ Her breath stutters. “I didn’t think it would become this.”
“Neither did I,” I whisper. “But you were right to send us to him—you saved us.”
