The way he pieces it all together so fast should scare me. Instead, it steadies me knowing he knows I don’t agree and that I’m running.
He sits beside me on the bed, leaving space between us enough that I can choose. I stare at that space for a long moment. Then I move into it. Saint’s arm comes around me. I lean against him and close my eyes.
For the first time in days, my body exhales. His hand settles at the back of my head.
I don’t remember lying down. I only remember the mattress beneath me and Saint pulling the blanket over my shoulders, his weight settling in the chair beside the bed.
I remember opening my eyes once and seeing him watching me. The door, the window, and every shadow that blankets the room. Like the entire world could come for me tonight, and he had already decided it would not get past him.
“Saint,” I whisper right before my eyes close. His gaze moves to mine. “Don’t leave.”
He leans forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped together like prayer has finally become violence. “I’m here.”
Sleep pulls me under before I can ask how long. The last thing I see is Saint sitting between me and the door. The only safe thing in the room.
Saint
Amy falls asleep with her hand wrapped around my sleeve. Even in sleep, she doesn’t let go. I remain where I am, watching the rise and fall of her breathing until it finally settles into something steady. The room is dark except for the light spilling beneath the bathroom door.
My eyes drift toward the desk. The envelope where the marriage license sits like it’s a bomb waiting to go off.
Roman Mancini.
I stand carefully, easing my sleeve from Amy’s fingers before crossing the room. The paper feels heavier than it should.
My jaw tightens, and then my thoughts go back to where I’ve been the past few days. The first lesson Valet taught me wasn’t about money. It wasn’t about power.
It was this.
A man’s intentions are never hidden. They’re written in what he believes belongs to him.
Roman wasn’t asking. He was making a point.
Behind me, Amy shifts in her sleep. The whisper is barely audible. “No...”
I look back. She’s dreaming again. Even asleep, whoever it is still reaches for her. I’m not stupid enough to think he isn’t one of them.
Quietly, I pull my phone from my pocket. The black phone Valet gave me rests beside my regular one.
The difference between two worlds. I ignore the black phone and call Zero.
He answers on the first ring. “You disappeared.”
“I’m back.”
He stays quiet for a minute. I can hear his wife in the background.
“Everything okay?”
“No.”
And that is all it takes.
“I’ll wake Valen. And Azriel. They’ll meet us at your house.”
“Alright.” I end the call and take one last look at Amy.
She’s curled beneath the blanket, one hand tucked beneath her cheek like she’s trying to make herself smaller. Something inside me twists.