The shift in him is terrifying.
One second he’s the man who held me together; the next, he disappears. His jaw locks so tightly I can see the muscle ticking beneath his skin. His blue eyes turn glacial, every trace of warmth replaced by something controlled and lethal. The sheer coldness in him steals my breath. I’ve never seen him look like this. It terrifies me and comforts me at the same time.
“What the fuck.”
A photo: CJ, kneeling beside my chair with his hand on my face, looking up at me.
Then another photo arrives, and my stomach drops away entirely: CJ kissing me.
Then a simple text appears:
Found you.
The world tilts, sharp and disorienting. My knees buckle, darkness rushing in too fast to fight. The last thing I hear before everything goes black is CJ shouting my name.
18
CJ
I catch Eli before he hits the floor.
One second he’s standing beside me, staring at the phone. The next, his knees buckle. I drop with him, one arm slinging around his shoulders and the other cradling his head before it hits the tiles. Fear hits me fast and brutal, tightening every muscle in my body.
“Eli.” I give him a gentle shake, but he doesn’t answer. His eyes remain closed, and I know immediately where he’s gone.
My Baby Boy has disappeared into that place inside his head, the one that keeps him safe when reality becomes too much to bear. I hate that he still has to go there, even now, even with me.
He can hide there for as long as he needs to, because I’ll deal with the monsters waiting out here. Heat burns low in my chest as I suck air into my lungs, forcing them to work. I won’t let anything touch him again. Not ever.
I grab my phone and pull up Deck’s number. I’ve seen the photos; I saw the message. And then I saw the sheer terror on Eli’s face, an image that sears itself permanently into my mind. His fear is something I’ll never forget.
Adrian.
My jaw clenches as fury sits heavy, sharp, and ready to break loose: a rage directed entirely at Adrian, the man who still holds this ghost of a grip on Eli, the man who can send two words and tear months of healing apart.
Found you.
The words echo in my head. Had this been the first message? Or were there more? The thought tightens my jaw further.
The line connects.
“Yoda,” Deck answers. “What’s up?”
“I need you at the office. Now.”
Silence settles between us, carrying no questions, only immediate understanding.
“We’ll be there in five,” Deck says, and ends the call.
Relief flickers through me. If anyone can help me hold the line, it’s Deck.
I sit on the floor with Eli draped across my lap. I slide my hand through his hair and brush my thumb over his cheek. His face is peaceful, almost too peaceful. It’s the kind of peace that comes from shutting down, not resting. It makes my chest ache for him.
Since the night he told me everything, Eli has still carried that weight alone. Even when he talks, the worst parts stay buried. But he was getting better, and this morning proved it: hearing him through that door, hearing my name fall from his lips.
He still thinks he has to carry it alone, but that stops here. It stops now. I’ve been involved since I pulled him out of thatcar, whether he realized it or not. I’m done letting him drown in silence.
Eli isn’t going back to that life, and Adrian doesn’t get another chance to touch him.
