Sarah crosses the room and stops my words with her mouth.
Her hands frame my face. Her lips press soft against mine—gentler than last night, but no less certain. When she pulls back, her eyes hold steady.
"I'm not going anywhere."
The fist around my lungs loosens. But she's not done.
"But you should know what you're getting into." Her voice drops. "There's something I haven't told you."
I wait. Give her space.
"My ex. Peter." The name falls from her lips like poison. "I got a restraining order, but he treated it like a suggestion."
"Okay, tell me everything."
She sinks onto the edge of my bed. Hugs her arms around herself—the gesture makes her look smaller, younger, more fragile than I know she is.
"We were married for three years. It started small—controlling where I went, who I talked to. Then the money. His family has so much of it, old money, and he used every cent to trap me. Expensive lawyers. Witnesses who changed their stories overnight. Every time I tried to leave, he made sure I couldn't."
Her voice cracks. I settle beside her.
"What happened?"
"It escalated." Her hands shake. "The first time he hit me, he cried afterward. Promised it would never happen again." A bitter laugh tears from her throat. "It always happened again. I documented everything—pictures, records, medical reports. His family's lawyers made it all disappear. Charges never stuck."
Cold fury coils in my gut—not the hot rage I expected, but something worse. Patient and calculating. The kind of anger that plans and waits and strikes when the target least expects it.
"How did you get out?"
"He passed out." She swallows hard. "One night he came home drunk—worse than usual. I thought—" Her voice breaks. "I thought that would be it, it would be the night he went too far and killed me. But he passed out before he could finish what he started—"
She can't finish.
I pull her against me. Hold her while tremors run through her body.
"I packed one bag and drove for three days straight." Her words muffle against my shirt. "I thought I'd finally outrun him. But he has money. Resources. Private investigators who don't stop looking."
"Look at me, Sarah. He'll never touch you again."
Tears swim in her eyes.
"Do you understand me?" I grip her chin, gentle but firm. "Never. I will burn down everything he loves before I let him near you. I will end him."
She nods and buries her face against my shirt.
I hold her until the shaking stops.
Evening settles over Nightfall Cove. I'm in my office reviewing parts invoices when my phone buzzes.
Finn:Sarah's shift ended. She's at her place. Jax's on the building.
I text back:Good. On my way.
The invoices blur together. Can't focus on anything but getting back to her.
My phone buzzes again.
Sarah:Can you come over?
