She thought of Zach’s face—the cold certainty in his voice when he said, ‘someone walked up to your door in the middle of the night.’
She thought of Kate’s voice, steady with experience. ‘I was wrong.’
And she thought of something else. Something she’d been avoiding all day.
The fear.
The visceral kind that didn't respond to logic—that woke her at 3 am, heart racing, listening to every creak and rustle outside the window. The kind that made every shadow mean something.
She hadn’t slept last night either.
Maybe this wasn’t about pride. Maybe it was about survival.
Emma exhaled slowly, the breath unsteady despite her effort to control it. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Kate echoed.
“Okay,” the word tasted odd in her mouth. Heavy—like admitting defeat and choosing life at the same time. “I’ll talk to Zach. I’ll… I’ll accept the relocation.”
“Thank God,” Lena breathed, “because the alternative was me flying down there and dragging you out myself.”
“She’s not joking,” Kate added.
Emma found herself smiling again, even as her rib cage remained tight. “I know. I’ll talk to him in the morning.”
“No. Call Zach now,” Kate insisted. “Don’t wait.”
“I… fine. I’ll find him tonight.”
“And Emma?” Kate’s voice softened. “This doesn’t make you weak. It makes you smart.”
Emma’s eyes stung. She blinked hard. “Thanks, Kate.”
“We love you,” Lena said. “Be safe.”
“Love you both, too.”
The call ended.
Emma set the phone down on the table. Her hand lingered, fingers tracing the edge of the case.
Outside, the last of the daylight was fading. All the security lights shone brightly, casting golden pools across the pathways. Through the window, she could see the main resort building in the distance—tall and bright and protected.
Zach’s domain.
It wouldn’t kill her to stay in a luxurious hotel room for a few days while Zach sorted this out.
Emma stood, tightening the belt of her robe, studying her reflection in the darkening glass—a ghost image, barely there. She didn’t look weak. She looked tired. And maybe, for the first time today, honest.
She would move into Zach Steele’s protective custody.
The thought should have felt like surrender. Like giving something up.
Instead, it felt like the first full breath she’d taken since opening her door yesterday at dawn.
Chapter 10
Counteroffer
