“Yes,” she whispers.
“Then let me lead,” I say.
Her lips part. She nods again.
I kiss her forehead—quick, fierce, grounding—then turn back to the room. “All right,” I say, voice hardening into command. “Gear up. We move soon.”
The room shifts as one—men turning into operators, focus snapping into place, the weight of purpose settling over everything.
Kayley stands there for a beat, watching them transform. Then she squares her shoulders and follows.
And as I watch her—this brave, stubborn woman who walked into Haven 7 with a baby and a blizzard and nothing else—I feel it again:
That vow.
Not Aidan.
Not Kayley.
Not now.
Not ever.
We’re going to end this.
Soon.
And if the world wants to try to take what’s mine?
It’s going to learn exactly what Haven 7 does to monsters.
THIRTEEN
KAYLEY
The first time I see them loading the SUVs, my brain tries to pretend it’s a movie.
Because it has to.
Otherwise I’ll think about what it means when men you trust pull on tactical vests and check weapons with quiet, practiced movements. Otherwise I’ll think about the fact that there are real bullets, real knives, real plans to hurt people who deserve it.
Otherwise I’ll think about Sophie.
And Aidan.
And how close I came to losing him.
The air is sharp with cold, but the compound yard is alive with motion—engines idling, doors slamming, equipment being checked twice. Rhett is running comms checks, headset on. Boyd is loading hard cases into the back of the lead SUV like they weigh nothing. Chase and Wyatt are moving between vehicles, carrying gear with the kind of efficiency that says they’ve done this more times than I want to imagine.
Rafe’s voice cuts through it all, calm and controlled, giving final instructions.
And Gavin?—
Gavin is a storm.
He moves around me constantly, not frantic, but always there. Like a shield. Like he’s tracking every angle even when he’s talking to me. His eyes flick to the tree line, to the gate, to the ridge, then back to me like he’s reassuring himself I’m still right where he left me.
I hate how much I need it.
