It is.
Saxon’s office door opens.
He stands in the doorway, gaze steady. “Now.”
I nod and guide Ellie forward. She hesitates for half a beat, then follows, chin lifted like she’s not intimidated.
Good. Saxon respects spine.
Inside the office, it’s cleaner than the rest of the station—file folders, maps, a bulletin board with shift schedules and training reminders. Saxon sits behind the desk without gesturing for us to sit.
Power move.
Ellie stays standing.
I stay standing.
Saxon’s gaze pins me first. “Talk.”
I keep my voice low. “There were boot prints circling my cabin. Not mine. Not hers.”
Ellie’s head snaps toward me. “You told him.”
“I told him what matters,” I say.
Saxon’s gaze shifts to Ellie, then back to me. “Who is she to you?”
Ellie stiffens.
I answer anyway. “She’s under my protection.”
Saxon’s brows lift. “That’s not what I asked.”
I hold his stare. “It’s what I’m giving.”
A beat of silence.
Then Saxon leans back in his chair, eyes hardening with the kind of calm that means he’s thinking operationally. “Does she have a name?”
Ellie’s voice cuts in, sharp. “Ellie.”
Saxon looks at her. “Do you have someone after you?”
Ellie’s smile tries to appear and fails halfway. “No.”
Sadie was right. That smile is a lie.
Saxon’s gaze flicks to me.
I don’t speak.
He watches us for a long moment, then says, “If there’s a threat, we treat it like a threat. You want eyes? You get eyes. Levi will run your perimeter. Sadie will do a drive-by. You call me if anything shifts.”
Ellie’s eyes widen. “You’re just… doing that?”
Saxon’s mouth twitches slightly. “We protect our own.”
Ellie swallows. “I’m not?—”
