I start the engine.
Because I know exactly where to go.
31
Tessa
Ididn’t realize how much had changed until I wasn’t allowed to be alone anymore.
At first, it felt strange.
Too much movement. Too many eyes. Too many people watching doors, windows, the street like danger could come from anywhere.
Because it could.
Blaze had turned the living room into a command center. Screens lit up every surface, maps, feeds, alerts constantly shifting. Trigger rotated watch with Beast, quiet and steady, always near the exits.
And Ace—
Ace stayed close to me.
Not hovering.
Not controlling.
Just… there.
Always there.
“You okay?” he asked, leaning against the doorway as I moved around the kitchen, making sandwiches.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
It wasn’t a lie.
Not exactly.
I was okay.
Just… aware.
Of everything.
Every sound. Every shift. Every second felt like it might turn into something else. I learned how to listen in prison. I learned the different sounds of footsteps. You could actually tell the difference between nice footsteps and angry ones. You had to have eyes in the back of your head at all times in there. You never knew who would turn on you.
“This is what it’s like for you,” I said.
“For us,” he corrected.
I glanced at him. “All the time?”
“Pretty much.”
I exhaled softly.
“I used to think it was chaos.”
“And now?”
