Chapter 45 River
FORTY-FIVE
RIVER
The clock ticks.
Loud. Invasive. A cruel metronome of worry.
I’m sitting in the Maddox Security waiting room, white-knuckling a ceramic mug of untouched tea as if it’ll anchor me. It doesn’t. Not when every breath feels too shallow, too tight.
Juno and Lark flank me on the leather couch.
We’ve migrated here from Rae’s comms room an hour ago, when we realized that hovering over her shoulder wasn't going to make anything go faster. Rae had promised updates the moment something changed, and we’re trying to honor that promise by not pacing a trench in the floor.
But it’s hard.
It’s so hard not knowing what’s happening out there. Not knowing if Gage is okay.
“Why aren’t they back yet?” I ask, even though no one can answer.
Lark offers a soft hum, her eyes distant. “Because missions take time. Especially ones that corner someone as dangerous as Helena.”
“She’s not just dangerous,” I whisper. “She’s calculated. Cold. She doesn’t flinch.”
“She’s also outnumbered by some of the most capable men I’ve ever known,” Juno says, crossing her arms with a little more defiance than necessary. “And Dean doesn’t play games. If he said they’d bring everyone home safe, then they will.”
I nod, but it’s brittle. Everything in me feels like it’s been strung too tight, stretched across the sharp edge of panic.
Lark glances at me. “You’re quiet.”
I blink and look down into my tea.
“I’m scared,” I say. “I’m so, so scared that something will go wrong and I’ll never see him again. That he’ll take a bullet or—”
I can’t even finish the sentence.
Juno scoots closer, sliding her arm around my shoulders. “He’s coming back. Gage is too damn stubborn to die. You’ve seen him. The man is made of sarcasm and sass.”
That pulls a soft laugh out of me. “Sarcasm and sass. That’s… oddly accurate.”
But even laughing doesn’t feel right when my stomach’s a pit of fear.
“I love him,” I say suddenly.
Lark and Juno look at me.
“I mean, I really love him,” I continue, pressing a palm to my chest. “It’s stupid and fast and maybe reckless, but it’s like… like my soul recognized him before my brain could even process it. And now the idea of not having him—”
Tears sting my eyes.
“I’ve never felt this way,” I say. “Never. And I’ve had crushes and flings, sure, but this? This is like… breathing. And I don’t know what happens if I lose that.”
“You won’t,” Lark says firmly, her voice sharper than usual. “You won’t lose him. He loves you too, Riv. I see it every time he looks at you like you’re his whole world. I’ve never seen him like this before.”
Juno squeezes my hand. “I mean, he tried to take on three grown men just for making fun of you.”
I sniffle a laugh. “Yeah. Alpha idiot.”
“He’s your alpha idiot,” Lark says with a smirk.
The silence that follows is warm. Comforting. I lean into it and rest my head on Juno’s shoulder.
And then the door opens.
We all bolt upright.
It’s Rae.
She looks exhausted. Her headset is still on, and there’s a coffee stain on the corner of her sleeve.
“It’s over,” she says. “Helena’s in custody.”
I gasp.
“Gage?”
“He’s fine. Dean’s team moved fast. She confessed on body cam when she realized we had her cornered. There’s enough evidence to put her away for life.”
Tears spring to my eyes again—but this time, they’re grateful ones.
Juno lets out a deep breath and smiles. “Told you. Dean always delivers.”
“Where is he?” I ask, already rising to my feet.
“Lobby,” Rae says, stepping aside.
I don’t wait.
I fly down the corridor, past the glass conference room and sleek steel walls that feel way too polished for a company that traffics in danger. I spot the double glass doors at the end of the hallway and push through them—
And there he is.
Gage.
Standing just inside the entryway, his hoodie unzipped, hair tousled, cheeks wind-flushed. He’s alive.
“River,” he breathes when he sees me.
I crash into his arms.
He catches me like he’s been waiting his whole life to hold me again.
“I was so scared,” I murmur into his neck.
“Me too, baby.” His voice is thick with emotion. “But I kept thinking of you. I had to get back to you.”
His hands cup my face, and he presses a kiss to my lips that is both soft and urgent, like he’s memorizing the taste of relief.
I wrap my arms around his waist and bury my face in his chest, inhaling his scent—sandalwood, cedar, and home.
“You’re okay,” I whisper.
“I’m okay.”
“And it’s really over?”
“It’s over.”
We just stand there, breathing each other in.
Eventually, I feel Lark and Juno behind me, joining us in the lobby as the rest of the team files in. Dean gives Gage a firm clap on the shoulder. Rae throws me a wink. Knight ruffles Lark’s hair, earning a punch to the arm.
It’s chaos.
Beautiful, safe chaos.
And for the first time in what feels like forever, I let myself believe we’re going to be okay.
Later that night, we’re at my apartment. I haven’t been here in ages.
We’re curled on the couch under a knit blanket, the fire casting flickering shadows on the wall. I’m tucked against Gage’s side, our fingers laced. Neither of us has said much since we got back.
Not because we don’t have anything to say.
But because we’re still soaking in the silence. The peace.
“So…” I murmur, glancing up at him. “What now?”
He turns to look at me, his eyes softer than I’ve ever seen.
“Now?” He grins. “Now we live.”
“Live?”
“Yeah. You and me. Whatever that looks like. No more secrets. No more running. I just want a life with you, Riv.”
Tears sting my eyes again. “You mean that?”
“With everything I am.”
He leans in and kisses me again, slow and tender and full of all the promises we haven’t said out loud yet.
And in that kiss, I feel it—
The future.
A messy, beautiful, love-filled future that starts right here… on this couch… wrapped in warmth and hope and him.
And I know—
I’ve finally come home.