Outside—
Aaron is waiting.
Of course he is.
He leans against the railing, slightly removed from the crowd, eyes scanning without making it obvious.
He hates this part.
The noise. The attention.
But he’s here anyway.
For me.
I walk straight into him.
No hesitation.
His arms come around me like they belong there.
“You just changed the world again,” he says quietly.
I smile against his shoulder.
“This time,” I say,
“I plan to stick around for it.”
He brushes his forehead against mine.
Grounding.
Certain.
“So do I.”
99
Ronan
Location: Coastal Safehouse
Time: Three Days After Kade
“Okay,” I say slowly, staring at the screen.
“This is not part of the victory tour.”
Aaron looks up immediately. “What?”
I don’t answer right away.
Because I don’t like what I’m seeing.
“I’ve got a red flag out of Eastern Europe,” I say. “Off-books extraction. Private aircraft. No transponder. No flight path.”
Jase leans in from the doorway.
