Safe.
It didn’t feel real until she threw herself forward and grabbed him.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers clutching the back of his vest as if he might vanish. He caught her immediately, one arm bracing her back, the other sliding up to cradle her head against his shoulder.
His heart hammered beneath her cheek.
She clung tighter and sobbed—deep, shaking sobs that wracked her entire body. The humiliation, the fear, the certainty that she was about to die—all of it poured out.
“I was so afraid you wouldn’t find me in time,” she whispered through broken breaths.
He tightened his hold just slightly and kissed the top of her head. “I will always find you. Always.”
Chapter 33
The house was too quiet.
Not silent. But unsettling, even though she wasn’t alone—Andy was in his room.
The refrigerator hummed. The air conditioner kicked on with a low rush. Outside, a few children laughed and shrieked as the waves chased them back onto the sand. Ordinary sounds.
Still, Tess jumped when the ice maker in the freezer dropped a fresh tray.
Her heart lurched so hard it left her breathless.
She pressed a hand to her sternum and closed her eyes for a second. Her pulse felt wild beneath her palm—too fast, too loud, like it was trying to outrun something that wasn’t even there.
You’re home. You’re safe.
She repeated the mantra the way Brian had the night before, his arms wrapped tight around her whileshe drifted in and out of fitful sleep. Every time she’d woken up, shaking, convinced for half a second that the hood was still over her face and her life was about to end, he’d whispered those words until she drifted off again.
In the still of the late morning, while she waited for him to return from the SBI headquarters, those unwanted memories burst through her mind once again.
Grabbed and thrown into the back of the van.
Loss of vision.
Zip ties.
Panic.
Dragged out of the van and downstairs.
Concrete.
Diego’s voice. His demands and threats.
The blast.
The single gunshot.
Brian rescuing her.
Okay, the only reason the last thought was unwanted was that it wouldn’t have been necessary if not for all the rest.
Her throat tightened.
You’re home. You’re alive. And so are Andy and Brian.
