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, andher 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.
The endearment slipped out, but it feltright.
She burrowed her face against his neck, her fingers tightened in hisshirt, and she trembled.
She was… crying.
Oh gods.
Each tear slipping from her eyes was a tiny dagger shoved beneath his skin. He hated that she was crying, hated that she was hurting.
Kissing the top of her head, Ryker whispered, “I’ll always be here for you.”
Those three weeks where he’d lived without her had been awful, and he would rather die than let them go through that again.
As he held his vampire close, letting her cry out her frustrations and fears, Ryker made a silent vow. No matter what obstacles came their way or who else they’d have to go up against, he would never let anyone tear them apart. Not the rebels, the Chancellor, Valentina Rose, or Tertia.
They would work through their problems, finish bridging their brokenness, and be stronger than ever when they reached the other side.