The helicopter lifts.
Juniper Ridge drops away beneath us—trees, cabins, the rink, the lake like a gray coin under winter sky.
Vesper sits rigid, hands locked around her strap, eyes fixed forward like if she looks back, she’ll fall apart.
Cally’s voice comes soft, careful, aimed at her.“We’ve got you.”
Vesper closes her eyes for one beat.“I’m not sure if I like either one of you.”
Cally grins.“You adore us.”
She makes a sound that might be a laugh, might be a sob.
We’re all heading to Portland.
To the Orcas.
To a joint media circus that’s going to try to turn rivalry into entertainment.To a city that’s too close to everything we broke.
And I can feel it already—the pressure of being trapped in the same air, the same schedule, the same orbit around the same woman, with the one man who makes my skin burn with anger and something worse.
The cage is closing.
And the only thing I know for sure is this:
If she falls, I’m catching her.
Even if it costs me everything.
ChapterFourteen
Vesper
It didn’t take long to get to Portland.I won’t lie—the short flight was almost pleasant, which feels rude considering the state of my life.
From the helicopter, everything looked impossibly calm.Mount Hood loomed in the distance, all ice and ancient arrogance, its ridgelines cutting clean against the sky.Below us, the forest spread out like a deep green quilt—evergreens packed tight, rivers threading through them like silver veins.Honestly, I wanted to pull out my camera and record, but I wasn’t feeling well enough to do that.
By the time Portland came into view, the city felt small and orderly, like a place where problems lined up and waited their turn.I watched all of it and pretended I could breathe like a normal person.
After that, there was a car waiting, and it took us straight to Monty’s temporary place.The building is all steel and glass—so modern it feels like it doesn’t want you breathing on it.The elevator walls are glass, too, the city dropping away beneath us.I imagine the view at night would be criminal.Right now, it just makes me dizzy.
The apartment itself is huge.Bright.Calm.Designed by someone who has never doom-scrolled symptoms online at two in the morning.There’s a river view that looks almost fake.As if it came preinstalled.Two bedrooms that smell like fresh paint and expensive detergent, which is deeply unfair, because I currently smell like regret, coffee, and choices I made while running on adrenaline.
“Conrad found a physician,” Monty says, eyes on his phone.“He’ll be here in a couple of hours.”He grabs my bag like it’s settled business.“I’ll put your things in the guest room.Unless you want the main room.”
“She’s not staying in the main room with you,” Cally snaps, protective in a way that feels like a claim.
“I’m giving her my room, asshole,” Monty fires back without missing a beat.
“Boys,” I say, already tired.“Let’s not do this.I’ll just go to my parents’ place.I’m not refereeing a testosterone match.”
Cally’s jaw works like he’s biting down on ten arguments at once.“As soon as I get a house, you should?—”
I clap once, loud enough to make them pause, like I’m calling a meeting I absolutely did not sign up to host.“New rule.We are not fighting about my whereabouts.Also, nobody says ‘you look pale,’ ‘how are you feeling,’ or ‘I’m here for you.’I am one unsolicited heartfelt phrase away from legally changing my name and joining witness protection.”
Cally opens his mouth.“I’m here for?—”
I point at him, dead serious.“Finish that sentence and I will use this very swanky apartment as an alibi.I might even blame him.There’s a known rivalry.I’ll be a very convincing innocent bystander.”
