I pressed the elevator button, watching the light blink once before the doors slid open. The space was empty—just stale air and the faint scent of someone’s morning coffee. I stepped inside and hit the button for the ground floor, the opposite direction of my apartment, just a floor above. Close enough to hear her if she screamed. Close enough to be there in seconds if she needed me.
Damien had thought of everything.
As the doors closed, that familiar weight tugged at me—not panic, not dread. A pull toward Damien I could no longer ignore.
A need for stillness. Direction. Something I didn’t have to control for once.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Damien: You done at Candace’s?
Me: Just finished.
Another buzz.
Damien: Perfect, I’ll see you soon.
Warmth unfurled beneath my skin. Slow. Certain.
For the first time since everything had fallen apart, the path ahead didn’t feel like something I had to brace myself for. I just had to walk toward him.
And I couldn’t wait.
Chapter 46
***
Emma
An hour later, the elevator chimed as the doors slid open onto Damien’s floor, the hallway washed in late afternoon glow.
“Hey.” Damien’s call came from the living room, along with the sound of a jog. He rounded the corner, slowing as he approached. “Welcome home,” he said, kissing me on the forehead. “Ava made chocolate chip banana bread. Want a slice?”
“That sounds amazing.” I toed off my shoes as Damien eased the coat from my shoulders.
“How is she?” he asked.
“Settling. Each day better than the last.”
He nodded, but his focus stayed on me, not the update. “And you?”
“I’m fine.”
He gave me a look. One unimpressed eyebrow that said he didn’t buy it for a second.
The corner of my mouth twitched. “Okay. Not fine. Just… tired.”
He opened his arms. “Come here.”
I folded into him. His warmth sank through fabric, through skin, settling somewhere deeper. My hands splayed against his chest, feeling him breathe.
“You’re wound tight. I can feel it in your shoulders.”
I let out a shaky sound. “It’s been a hard week.”
“Mm.” His hands worked gently into the knot beneath my shoulder blade, the slow pressure sending a faint shiver down my spine. “I feel you there.”
I tipped my head up to look at him. “How are things going with the breach?”
