Rowan stands with her shoulders squared, hair loose now, eyes bright with rage and relief.
I love her so much it scares me.
Sheriff units roll in, lights cutting across the runway, tires crunching gravel. Deputies pour out, taking custody, securing the scene. Cal arrives moments later, moving fast, eyes scanning,command in every step. He checks Rowan first, hands light as he assesses her for injuries.
“You okay?” he asks.
Rowan nods, breath shaking. “I’m okay.”
Cal turns to me. “Sin.”
“I’m good.”
He studies my face and doesn’t push. He looks back at Grant being hauled away into an ambulance. “We’ve got enough to hold him. We also have enough to cut Randy loose from whatever lies he’s been telling. Your story is going to bury the corporation.”
Rowan’s mouth trembles. “Randy.”
Cal’s expression is hard. “Randy will face consequences. Blackmail doesn’t excuse attempted murder.”
Rowan swallows, then nods once. “Good.”
I step toward her, and the moment I’m close, she launches into me. Her arms wrap around my neck. Her face presses against my chest. Her whole body shakes with relief. I wrap her tight, one hand at the back of her head, the other at her waist, holding her like I can lock her to me by force.
She whispers into my shirt, voice breaking. “I thought I lost you.”
I close my eyes. “You won’t.”
She pulls back just enough to look up at me, eyes glossy. “You can’t promise that.”
I look at her, really look. The woman who fights with words. The woman who refuses to bow. The woman who saw through my rules and still trusted me. “I can promise you I’ll try until my last breath,” I say.
Rowan’s mouth trembles again, and then she kisses me. Right there on the runway, under flashing lights and the smell of jet fuel and justice.
I kiss her back like I’ve been holding my soul in my teeth and she just gave me permission to let go. When we break apart, her forehead rests against mine.
“I love you,” she confesses. The words hit me hard.
“I love you too,” I say. No hesitation. No rules. “And I’m done pretending that scares me.”
Rowan laughs through a sob. “Good. Because it scares me.”
I brush my thumb over her cheek. “We’ll be scared together.”
Cal clears his throat nearby, pretending he isn’t listening, giving us the courtesy of distance. “Two things,” he says. “One, Grant is in custody. Two, the corporation’s leverage file is in our hands. He brought it to the meeting with Randy. We pulled it from the van.”
Rowan’s eyes sharpen. “That’s the whole chain.”
“It is,” Cal confirms. “You get your story. With receipts. The kind nobody can bury.”
Rowan exhales a shaky breath. “I’m going to publish it.”
“You will,” Cal agrees. “After we run it through legal. After we make sure you’re protected. Then you can light the match.”
Rowan nods, then looks back at me. “And you?”
“And me,” I repeat, like the word is foreign and familiar at the same time.
Rowan’s hand slides into mine. “What happens after?”
