She swallows hard as she blinks fast, refusing to let more tears fall, and I can see how much she’s fighting not to break apart. I shift, standing and slide in behind her, pulling her against my chest so she can feel me.
At first, her body is taut, like she’s bracing for the moment she can push me off, but then the fight drains out of her. She leans back, her head resting against my shoulder, while her hands clutch at my forearm, gripping like she needs something real to keep her from unraveling.
“I know he was trying to send a message, but I hate that it feels like he took everything from me,” she whispers, voice so small it barely reaches me.
“I know,” I murmur, sliding my hand up her back to rub slow circles between her shoulder blades. “But he didn’t take you, and he didn’t take her.”
I rest my chin lightly on her hair, holding her a little closer.
A heavy silence stretches, and when she finally exhales, it’s a shaky breath that sounds like it’s carrying something out of her. “You always know what to say.”
“Not always,” I admit. “But I have an amazing therapist, and I refuse to let you go through this thinking you’re by yourself.”
She shifts, her cheek settling against my chest, and I feel the smallest bit of her weight give in to me. I pull her fully into my lap, and she doesn’t fight it.
“I didn’t realize how scared I was until now,” she says, barely above a whisper.
I shift just enough to face her, but I don’t push. “Scared of what?”
Her eyes stay fixed on my chest, like she’s afraid that if she meets my eyes, whatever words she has left will vanish. “That it’s going to happen again,” she whispers. “That no matter how much security we have, he’ll try again. This time it was juststuff,but maybe next time it’ll be—”
“Don’t.” My voice comes out sharp, firmer than I intend. I tip her chin up so she has to meet my eyes. Hers are glassy, shining, and the sight of them hits me like a punch. It takes everything in me not to walk out of here and find James myself.
“I need you to hear me, Celeste,” I say, softening my tone but not the conviction behind it. “That is not going to happen. Not while I’m here. Rowan hired the best security for his sister. He will do everything in his power to keep her safe. As will I.”
Her mouth trembles. “You can’t promise that.”
“I can,” I say, no hesitation. “Because I’m not going anywhere. And if he tries to get near Korbyn again, if he even thinks about it, he’ll have to go through me first.”
A weak laugh slips out of her, more breath than sound. She drops her forehead to my chest. “You always make it sound so simple.”
“It is simple,” I murmur, pressing a slow kiss to the top of her head. “Keeping you two safe while we’re in this rig will be the easiest thing in the world for me.”
We sit like that for a long time, with her curled into me, my arms wrapped around her like I can shield her from the whole damn world. Eventually, she pulls back, searching my face. Something shifts in her expression, something small. Hope, or maybe trust. Our breathing syncs as the world narrows to the small space between us. She’s still trembling, but she’s here, and she’s letting herself lean on someone other than herself.
“It’s been a long day,” I murmur, keeping my voice low so I don’t break the moment. “Why don’t you take a shower and put on some comfy pajamas. I’m going to set up a movie night for us.”
She pulls back just enough to look at me, her brows pinching like she’s not sure she heard me right. “A movie night?”
“Yeah,” I say, my thumb tracing slow, absent circles along her cheek. “Just the two of us, unless you want the rest of the band here. I know how much you loveThe Goonies,so I’ll have that and a bowl of popcorn waiting for you when you are ready. I thought you might want to start making new memories here.”
She studies me for a beat, then lets out a quiet laugh, as she shakes her head. “Have I ever told you about the time I broke into my sister’s house because I saw that Orion was hanging out with her without me?”
I huff a soft laugh. “I’ve heard it. But he’s the one who told me.”
“Oh no. What did he say?”
“That you picked the lock like it was nothing and walked straight through the front door and scared the hell out of both of them. He said that was the first, and hopefully last, time he almost shot you.”
“Well, it wasn’t the last time,” she says, deadpan. “He almost shot me when I let myself into the hotel room you were sharing with him.”
I double blink. “He—you… what?”
She lifts a shoulder like it’s nothing. There’s a beat where all I can do is stare at her, because apparently she’s been casually breaking into places for who knows how long, and I’m only now finding out. I thought it was a one-time thing when she broke into Selene’s house.
She watches the realization hit me and smirks. “Relax. I disarmed him before he could shoot me, I punched him in the balls, too.”
I choke on a breath. “You—what?”
