Ryker scanned her for injuries. Golden strands were slipping out of her ponytail, and her eyes were heavy, but she appeared uninjured.
He exhaled a sigh of relief, satisfied that his vampire was healthy and in one piece.
“How did it go?”
“As expected.” She shrugged. “Jelisette is never delightful, and tonight was no exception.”
His gaze snagged on the bag slung over her shoulder. “Is that…”
She held the bag, twisting the handle through her fingers. “It is.”
“Great.” Except, it didn’t seem great. An air of heaviness that hadn’t been there before hung around his wife. “Where was it?”
Brynleigh chewed on her lip. “The cipher was in the safe, and I had to break into it. I hadn’t expected it, but I should have. Why would something this important be kept out in the open? That’s what took me so long.”
And Jelisette could have found her at any time. Ryker’s heart raced as he realized how close Brynleigh had been to death.
Relief flooded through Ryker, and he gripped the bag. Brynleigh was home, she was safe, and they had the cipher.
Now that she stood in front of him, he allowed himself to think about what this really meant. Between the book, the cipher, and setting a trap for the rebels at the Reunion, they were finally getting somewhere.
Maybe soon, they could put an end to all this madness. Close out the deal and just live their lives as they’d always intended.
“Thank you, Brynleigh.” The words weren’t enough to properly convey Ryker’s feelings, but he needed to say them all the same. He sensed something was still wrong, though. “Are you okay?”
Her mouth pinched, and she shuddered.
“I’m just glad it’s over. Zanri’s office was… creepy.” Shadows passed through her eyes. “The whole place was creepy.”
“But you’re safe,” Ryker repeated, needing to hear her confirm it.
“Yes, I am.” Brynleigh twisted the bracelet around her wrist, and her gaze dropped. “It was… I don’t know if I can go back. I don’t want to. Death lives in that place, and I’m… scared.”
The last word was a whisper, and her eyes widened as it slipped out, as if she hadn’t meant to say it.
The admission shook Ryker to his core. He’d never heard his fierce wife admit to being afraid before.
He hated that she had been forced to return to that place because of him. When he’d made the deal with Myrrah, he’d been so blinded by his grief that he hadn’t stopped to consider what going back to her Maker would do to Brynleigh.
Ryker wished he could rip the tracking bracelet off Brynleigh’s wrist and fling it into the depths of the ocean, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even promise that she’d never have to return to the safe house. It wasn’t up to him.
He’d made a deal to get her out of prison, and now they were both tied to it.
Tomorrow, Ryker would turn the book and the cipher over to the army’s code breakers.
He and Brynleigh had done their part in finding the evidence. Hopefully, between the coded book and the inside information on the rebels, it would be enough.
Even though Ryker didn’t have the power to end the arrangement, he refused to stand here and let his vampire suffer on her own. Placing the tote on a nearby table, he opened his arms.
“Come here, sweetheart.”
He wasn’t sure she would take him up on the offer, and every second stretched on until she launched herself towards him. He caught her, stumbling back a step as her weight settled against him.
For a very long moment, neither of them spoke.
She gripped him, and he held her, relishing the feeling of her body against his. Her scent of night-blooming roses washed over him, and he pressed his cheek against her head.
“I’ve got you, love,” he murmured.