The walls shake.
Tessa’s breath catches behind me—but she doesn’t pull away.
Doesn’t fight me.
Doesn’t run.
She stays exactly where I put her.
The engine cuts.
Silence crashes down just as hard.
Heavy.
Wrong.
Every instinct I have is screaming.
Then—
The driver’s door creaks open.
And Daniel Reynolds steps out.
I barely recognize him.
Gone is the controlled, calculated man we were tracking.
This—
This is something else.
His clothes are disheveled. His movements sharp. Unpredictable.
His eyes—
His eyes lock onto Tessa like she’s the only thing in the world that matters.
Like nothing else exists.
Like nothing else ever will.
Something cold settles in my chest.
Because I’ve seen that look before.
Men like that don’t walk away.
They don’t negotiate.
They don’t stop.
“Stay behind me,” I say, my voice low, deadly calm.
I shift just enough to block her completely.
But I already know—
