It doesn’t surprise me. That’s the thing. It should. It doesn’t. It feels like recognition. Like something in me clocked it the second I saw her on that street, even if I didn’t have the words for it then. She belongs here. With them. With me. That lands deeper than anything from the cage, deeper than the folder, deeper than the claim I made in church. This isn’t instinct anymore.
It’s certainty.
I move without thinking about it.
The room doesn’t react much when I cross it. They know me. They know how I move. They know I don’t step into a space unless there’s a reason.
Olivia notices. Her eyes lift. Find me. That small smile shifts, unsure for a second, like she’s still figuring out what to do with me now that she’s not half-drugged and barely holding it together.
I stop in front of her. Hold out the box. No explanation. No build-up.
She looks at it. Then at me. “What’s this?”
“New phone.”
Her brows pull together slightly, confusion flickering across her face as she takes it. She turns it over in her hands, then opens it.The second she sees it, her expression changes. Surprise. Then hesitation. “This is… Cobra, I can’t… this is too much.”
“No, it’s not.”
Her gaze snaps back to mine. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I did.”
I don’t explain it. Don’t soften it. Don’t tell her it’s because her phone got smashed on the pavement or because she needs a way to contact her family or because Dom’s already pulling numbers off the burner and I want her ahead of whatever comes next. All of that is true. None of it is the reason. The reason is simpler.
She’s mine.
Which means she has what she needs. End of discussion.
She studies me for a second like she’s trying to decide if pushing back is worth it. It isn’t. She knows that. I see it settle. Then she looks up and responds a bit quieter, “Thank you.”
That matters. Not the gratitude. The acceptance. She didn’t fight it. Didn’t make it something bigger than it is. She just… took it. That tells me more than anything else could.
She moves before I expect it.Stands. Steps into my space. Her arms wrap around me. It’s not cautious. Not calculated. It’s instinct. Like her body made the decision before her mind caught up to it. Everything in me locks. Every muscle goes tight for half a second. Then something else hits. Heat. Not sharp. Not violent. Deep. Spreading. Her body is warm against mine, soft in a way that doesn’t fit with anything I usually allow this close. Her cheek brushes my chest, her breath steady against me, and for one second…
Everything inside me quiets.
Not controlled. Not contained. Quiet.
My hand comes up automatically, settling against her back. Not gripping. Not pulling.
Just… holding.
Keeping her there. Grounding her. Grounding me.
Mine.
It doesn’t come with anger. Doesn’t come with demand. It’s not something I need to enforce. It just is. She shifts slightly, like she just realized what she did. Pulls back. And I let her. I step away first. Create space. Reset.
The room feels different now. Not louder. Not quieter. Just sharper.
I move back to the edge of it. Same place I always take when I don’t need to be in the middle of things. Same vantage point. Different reaction. Now I see everything.
Kya leans in again, saying something that makes Olivia nod, her expression softening slightly like she’s starting to relax into the conversation instead of just keeping up.
Mac shifts Knox without even asking, letting him settle more fully against Olivia like she trusts her to handle him. That matters. Trust here isn’t given easy.
Dom walks through the space, glancing at Olivia as he passes. He slows, says something low enough I don’t catch it, and Olivia laughs. It’s not forced. Not careful. Real.
