"I needed to find you."
"You've been watching me. Pretending to be someone else."
The broken, gasping woman from thirty seconds ago has vanished. In her place stands the sharper version of Keira I fell for years ago.
There she is.
"Protecting you," I correct, rising slowly.
"Lying to me." She presses the heels of her hands into her eyes. "Making me feel…things."
I keep my movements careful. She's a wild animal right now, all flight instinct and adrenaline. One wrong move and she bolts.
"Oh my god." Her hands drop. Her face has gone pale again. "He's going to kill us."
"He's not going to touch us. I have a plan."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
I take a step toward her, and she mirrors it by stepping back.
"I couldn't. It wasn't the right time."
"Couldn't tell me? Or wouldn't?" She crosses her arms over her chest.
"Both." I step closer again, and this time she doesn't move. "If I'd blown my cover before everything was in place, we'd all be dead. I couldn't risk Calder retaliating against you and Hale."
The fight drains from her posture. "He knows."
"I'm not sure how much, but if I found out, then he likely could too."
She arches a brow, looking lost.
I continue. "Six months ago, a lockbox showed up at my desk with a photo of you and a kid who has my fucking eyes."
"What are you talking about?"
Either she's genuinely confused or she's playing me again.
"You didn't send the coordinates?"
She shakes her head. "No. I had some things in a safety deposit box—the only piece of my old life I managed to keep. No one had access to it but me."
"I don't know who sent it, and I don't care. You vanished without a trace, and all I had was that box. And a photo of my son." I close the distance between us. "You didn't think I'd tear apart the world to find you?"
She wraps her arms around herself. "I didn't disappear. I was?—"
"Taken by a monster who treats you like property." I put my hands on her shoulders, leaning down to look her in the eyes. "I know. I've been watching it happen. Standing in corners while he hurts you, and it's been killing me."
Her jaw tightens. "So what's your grand plan? Storm the castle? Kill everyone who looks at me wrong?"
"That's exactly my plan."
A humorless laugh escapes her. "This isn't a joke, Tristan."
"Who said it was?"
"He has an army. Connections in governments, police departments, intelligence agencies. He owns everyone. You can't just?—"
