"So you said." Her voice is rough, edged with want. "Tonight we sleep."
"Sleep."
"Eventually." A small smile, and then she's pulling me toward the door. "You coming?"
A question that's not really a question.
I follow her inside, secure the perimeter one last time, and let myself have this. Time with Helena before Simon Graves brings everything he can throw at this compound.
Because when the assault comes—and it will come—I'll need to be sharp, focused, ready for violence without hesitation.
But tonight, I can have this. I can have her. I can set aside the tactical planning and the defensive preparations and just be with someone who sees what I am and wants it anyway.
Later, with Helena asleep against me and dawn still hours away, one thought stays clear:
Graves isn't taking Traci. He's not destroying the evidence Cara's building. And he's not continuing to enjoy the empire he built on the suffering of trafficking victims.
When Simon Graves comes back, he's facing people who've survived worse than him. People who know exactly what he is and what he's done.
And people who won't stop until he's finished.
