“You know exactly how.”
Fear finally settles deep in his bones.The kind that stays.Good.He should carry it.Forever.
I make sure he does what is necessary before I head to my girls.Marlaina stayed with Quinn while Saged took them home.
Quinn is home safe.Lucy is there holding her close.Waiting.I walk through the door and everything else fades.
Because she’s on her knees in the living room, Quinn in her arms, both of them crying, holding onto each other like they might disappear if they don’t.
Relief hits me like a punch to the chest.
I’ve been scared before.
For myself.For my brothers.
But this?
This is different.
This is something I don’t have a name for.Lucy looks up when she sees me.Her eyes find mine.
And something passes between us.Understanding.Gratitude.Something deeper.
I step closer.Quinn reaches for me with one hand still clinging to her mother.“Mellow, you saved me from the mean lady.”
My throat tightens.I crouch down, brushing her hair back gently.“You’re okay, kid.”
She nods, still crying.Lucy watches me.And I realize something I can’t ignore anymore.
This isn’t just about Lucy.Hasn’t been for a while.It’s Quinn too.Her safety.Her smile.Her life.I look at them—both of them—and something settles deep in my chest.Not fear.Not uncertainty.Something solid.Unmovable.
I would burn the world down for them.
And for the first time in my life—I know exactly why.
I am in love with Lucy Coe.
TWENTY
LUCY
Normal doesn’t come back all at once.It comes in pieces.
Small ones.Fragile ones.
The first night after Quinn is home, I don’t sleep at all.I lay in bed with her tucked against me, her small body curled into mine like she’s trying to disappear into my ribs, and I stare at the door.Every sound makes my heart jump.Every creak of the house feels like a warning.I check the locks three times.Then four.
Then I sit on the edge of the bed and just listen.Waiting.For something that never comes.The second night is only slightly better.
The third night, I finally break.
Not in a loud way.Not in some dramatic collapse.Just quietly.Exhausted.Shaking.
I stand in my kitchen at midnight, staring at nothing, knowing I can’t do another night like this.And then—the door opens.Soft.Controlled.And Tucker steps inside like he’s been doing it his whole life.
He doesn’t ask.Doesn’t hesitate.Just closes the door, checks the lock without making a show of it, and looks at me.
“You should be sleeping.”
