He slipped away and searched through her hall closets until he found a blanket. Then he pulled off his boots and slid onto the bed beside her, throwing the blanket over them both, and closed his eyes.
Beside her, he could drift in warmth. In the scent of her skin, the vanilla and jasmine of her soap. Listening to her small sighs and light snuffles.
She shuffled back in her sleep, fitting herself against his body—her back to his chest—and he wrapped himself around her gladly, safe in their cocoon as the storm raged outside. He didn’t sleep. He wanted to have this time holding her, being with her.
She woke before dawn, and he felt the change in her. The tension returning to her body along with awareness. He spoke before she could startle, whispering her name. And she turned to face him over her shoulder, blinking slowly.
“You’re here,” she said, her voice rough with sleep. “You came back. I didn’t think—” She shook her head, a slight movement against his shoulder. “I wasn’t sure if you would.”
“I’m sorry. I would have come back if I could.” He pressed a kiss onto her shoulder. “How long was I gone?”
“Three days.” She closed her eyes for a moment, and he could feel the weight of those days pressing down on her.
He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, wishing he didn’t have to say anything. Wishing he didn’t have to add to the burdens she already carried. “Ellie, before I… left. There was someone in your house.”
She nestled into him, her back pressed even tighter against his front. “I know,” she murmured. “I saw him. He was trying to break through my firewall. I think he was going after the game.”
She’d told him before about the IP stored on her system. Using Ellie’s personal computer to get to it would be a lot easier. But… “That means he knows you.” Fuck. “He targeted you specifically.”
She hummed her agreement. “I think so too.” She swallowed heavily. “I think he knew I’d gone to London. I think he must have been watching my house somehow.”
“Why?” He couldn’t keep the outrage out of his voice. Ellie loved her game. She’d worked so hard, for so long, and now someone was trying to take it from her. And the thought of someone watching her… Fuck. “What would he do with it?”
“Sell it to our competitors, launch his own version earlier… maybe even blackmail us to have our IP returned. I don’t know.” Ellie dragged her hand across her eyes. “I’ve been trying to figure out how best to find him, but where do you even start? I thought maybe some kind of eye scanning, optical recognition. But that means hacking the Home Office, and, well, I don’t want to go to jail.” She huffed out a self-deprecating laugh. “And to be honest, hacking is harder than it sounds.”
“What does that mean?” Hell. He really hoped it wasn’t how it sounded.
She turned further, facing him more fully. “I tried to figure it out. But there are no YouTube videos telling you how to break into government databases, can you believe it? Even ChatGPT gave me some useless answer about how it was sorry, but it couldn’t assist. Bloody AI.” She wrinkled her nose, ignoring the look he gave her. “I decided a better idea would be to look at traffic cam footage… did you know you can put in a request for copies of the videos? But it means driving around, looking for the cameras, figuring out who owns them and then trying tocontact them. It’s taking hours… and I don’t have that many in a day—especially since I have a company to run first, so I’m doing all of that after close of business.”
“How is that going?” he asked gently, hoping Vic had done the right thing, but doubting it at the same time.
“It’s been tough,” Ellie admitted. “I spent most of the day in London yesterday. I had my usual Thursday managers meeting, extra time with Duane, and a review with HR and our security team, which was exactly as much fun as you could image.” She yawned tiredly. “The one good thing is I spoke with Max at Silver Wolff, and formally declined the sale.”
That was huge. He knew just how hard that step was, and how much it had meant for her to take it. “I’m so proud of you, Ellie.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. But then her voice fell, and her expression grew more sorrowful, and he knew there was more. He held her tight until she was ready to share the rest, and, voice breaking, she told him what had happened with Victoria. All the things Vic had said and how she’d had to take the horrible decision to lock her friend out of the company. How she’d expected a massive fight—but Vic had walked away and not come back.
Ellie had promoted Duane who’d stepped up massively, but it was still a load of extra work on both their shoulders. And, at the same time, she was single-handedly trying to solve both the hit-and-run that landed her in hospital and the break-in that threatened all her work. All while worrying about her friend. And him.
Had he ever felt so helpless? God, he hoped not.
And it got worse. He didn’t want to admit it. Didn’t want to open the door. But he had to tell her. “The man that broke into your house; I’ve seen him before. I felt… Ellie, I think I know him. I made it into the room with him before I faded.I recognized him from somewhere. But—” He let out a harsh breath. “—I don’t remember where.”
“Okay.” She nodded slowly, her quick brain working through what he’d said and, by the look on her face, coming to the same conclusion he had. The knowledge that Josh had recognized her intruder didn’t help them at all. Not when he didn’t know who he was.
“I’m sorry.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, wishing he could do more. Wishing he could pull the blanket completely over their heads and hide her away in a warm, safe cocoon. “I wish I could fix it for you,” he said against her skin.
She tilted her chin to look at him, her eyes full of kindness. “I wish the same. That I could fix everything for you, too.”
“And if we can’t fix this?” he asked quietly.
“We can,” she replied, and she sounded as if she believed it. Or as if she was determined to make herself believe. “I’ll just work harder. I’ll find a way.”
God, he wished that could be true—not that she would work harder; that was the last thing she needed—but that there was a way to make everything right. And that they would find it.
He pressed another kiss to her forehead, and then another to her temple, and then one over her eye. Down her cheek. The side of her mouth.
Maybe it couldn’t be fixed. Maybe nothing could. But for now, she was in his arms. She was warm and soft and full of life. They could live in this one moment. Make it last for as long as possible. And maybe, just maybe, they would find a way.
