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Because of me, Ethan realized. Because I was here, and they knew I’d have to watch. He wasn’t sure how that made him feel. On the one hand, he wasn’t sure he could watch Rook kill another person, but by the same token, that was how a guardian fed… Another thing to process at another time.

Rook was looking through a stack of documents in a corner office, photographing everything with his phone, his shadows holding the papers flat. “This was only one site,” he called out. “There are at least three others. Kenosha, Milwaukee, and somewhere labeled ‘Epsilon.’”

“We’ll locate them.” Thorn moved toward the victims. “Right now we need to leave before police arrive.”

Ethan stayed with Fiona while they waited for the distant wail of sirens. She clutched his arm, still visibly shaking, which Ethan understood even though he wasn’t sure what he could do. He wasn’t the best at showing comfort and caring, and he didn’t think the guardians had a lot of experience with that either.

“You came for me,” she said, her eyes darting around at the others.

“Of course I did,” Ethan murmured. “As soon as you missed your shift, I knew you were in trouble.”

“Grant said…” Her voice hitched. “He said no one would notice, that we were invisible, and no one cared.”

“You’re not invisible.” Ethan met her eyes. “And Grant Voss is going to be punished for this.”

The sirens grew louder. Thorn gestured toward the vehicles. “We’re leaving. Now.”

Rook touched Ethan’s shoulder. “They’ll be okay. The police will take care of them.”

“Can’t you stay with me?” Fiona didn’t seem to want to let go of his arm. “I’m scared.”

“My friends…” Ethan gestured at Rook and the others. “We shouldn’t even be here. They only came with me because I was looking for you. I promise you’ll be safe now, but maybe hold off on running after new opportunities for a little while, okay?”

“I’m swearing off dating period, full stop.” Fiona mock-shuddered. “Ethan…thank you. You did try to warn me…so, thanks.”

Feeling his cheeks heat up, Ethan nodded, staying until the officers approached the warehouse and Fiona was safely surrounded by people who could help her through whatever came next. Only then did he give in to the quiet pressure of the shadows on his back as Rook guided him to the SUV where Thorn and Cillian waited.

They drove in silence for the first five minutes. Ethan sat in the back seat, his hands still smelling of rust and dirty water, his mind replaying the violence. Not the gore…there really hadn’t been any gore. But everything else - the way the guardians moved, the way they morphed into something that could never be described as human - it was a lot to think about.

“You okay?” Rook twisted in the passenger seat to look at him.

“Yes.”

“You don’t look okay.”

“I’m processing.” Ethan looked up, meeting his gaze. “You told me what you were, and I believed you. But witnessing it is different than imagining a concept.”

“I could’ve been gentler.” Rook’s shadows crept across the center console, reaching toward Ethan. “I didn’t want to scare you.”

“You didn’t scare me.” Ethan watched the shadows wrap around his wrist. “I think that’s what my mind is trying to make sense of. There wasn’t one moment where I was scared of you.”

Bullets and old blood on my hands is a different matter entirely, but Ethan knew he’d process that in his own way, too.

Thorn pulled into Shadow House’s underground garage twenty minutes later. Silas’s van was already there, his medical supplies unpacked across a workstation.

“The police are processing the scene.” Silas glanced up from his laptop. “The anonymous tip worked perfectly. Ashford’s name hasn’t surfaced yet, but with luck it will soon, depending on what the victims were told.”

“What about the other sites?” Cillian leaned against the van.

“I’m working on the locations now.” Silas typed, screens flickering. “I’ll have coordinates within the hour.”

Ethan climbed out of the SUV, his body registering delayed adrenaline - hands trembling, heart rate elevated, and breathing shallow. Previous experience told him it was a normal physiological response to a crisis situation and that he’d be fine in approximately fifteen minutes.

Rook appeared beside him. “Come here.”

“I’m fine.” Ethan’s answer was automatic.

“I know. Come here anyway.”