Chapter 35 Poe
THIRTY-FIVE
POE
The morning light filters through the blinds in soft gold strips across the bed, painting Orchid’s bare shoulder in warm tones that make my chest ache.
I wake up first, like always, and for a long moment I just lie there holding her.
She’s curled against me like she was made to fit there, one leg thrown over mine, her dark hair a wild mess across my shoulder and chest. Her breathing is slow and even, warm puffs against my skin, and every exhale feels like a gift I don’t deserve.
Last night replays in my head like the best kind of fever dream.
The bathtub. The way the water lapped around us while she whispered that she loved me.
The slow, emotional slide of our bodies together, not just fucking but making love like the world outside didn’t exist. My chest feels so full it might crack open.
I have never felt anything like this. Not the heat, not the danger, not even the fear of what’s coming today.
Just her. Us. This quiet, stolen moment before everything goes to hell again.
I press a slow kiss to the top of her head, breathing in the faint scent of lavender from her hair and the warmth of her skin.
My arms tighten around her instinctively.
I want to freeze time right here. Keep her safe in this bed forever.
Keep the rest of the world locked outside where it can’t touch us.
But I know better. Serafina’s coming. The clock’s ticking.
And no matter how much I wish I could protect her from it all, I can’t.
Orchid stirs a few minutes later. She makes a soft, sleepy sound and blinks up at me, those dark eyes softening the second they focus on my face.
A small, genuine smile curves her lips, the kind that still surprises me every time it appears.
It’s not the enforcer smile. It’s the real one. The one she only gives me.
“Morning,” she whispers, voice husky from sleep.
“Morning, baby.” I brush her hair back from her face with gentle fingers, tracing the line of her cheekbone.
Then I lean down and kiss her properly, slow and deep and full of everything I feel.
She melts into it immediately, her hand sliding up my chest, fingers spreading over my heart like she’s trying to memorize the beat.
For one perfect minute the world outside this bed doesn’t exist. There’s only her mouth, soft and warm and tasting like mine.
Only her skin against mine. Only the way she sighs into the kiss like I’m home and safety and everything she’s been missing.
When we finally pull apart she rests her forehead against mine, eyes closed, breathing me in. “I don’t want to get up,” she admits quietly. “I want to stay right here with you all day.”
“Me too,” I murmur, kissing the tip of her nose. “I would keep you in this bed for the rest of our lives if I could. Just you and me. No Serafina. No Maddox. No bullshit.”
She smiles again, but it’s sadder this time. “One day. Maybe. After all this is over.”
The words hang between us, fragile and hopeful. We both know today could be the end of everything. Or the beginning. Neither of us says it out loud.
A sharp knock at the front door shatters the moment like glass.
We both tense instantly. My body goes rigid, heart rate spiking. I glance at the clock on the nightstand. Eight thirty. Right on time. The supplies.
Orchid slips out of bed first, graceful even in her urgency.
She pulls on a t-shirt and jeans. I tug on sweatpants and a t-shirt, muscles already coiled.
We move through the house together like we’ve done this a hundred times, alert but trying to look casual for any cameras that might still be watching.
Through the peephole I see a nondescript delivery guy in a plain uniform holding a black hard case.
Nothing obviously threatening, but my hand stays close to the gun tucked in the back of my waistband anyway.
The one Maddox gave me before I left headquarters last night.
Orchid opens the door just enough, signs for the package with the fake name Serafina set up. The second the door shuts I throw every lock and deadbolt. The clicks echo like gunshots in the quiet house.
I carry the heavy case straight to the office and set it on the desk.
Orchid follows, arms crossed tight over her chest, worry carved deep between her brows.
When I open the case the contents gleam under the desk lamp.
High-end encryption breakers, custom server relays, fiber-optic bypass tools.
Everything Serafina promised. Top-of-the-line gear that probably cost a fortune.
I sit down and boot up the system. The dummy hack Maddox’s people built is already running quietly in the background, feeding false data through the system.
It looks real. It has to. But we both know it’s fake. A beautiful trap wrapped in code.
My fingers still move across the keys out of habit, typing lines, feeding more dummy data, making it look like I’m deep in the guts of Maddox Security. Every keystroke feels heavier than the last. This is the moment we have been waiting for. The moment everything could go right or horribly wrong.
Orchid watches me from the doorway for a long time, silent.
Then she comes over and stands behind my chair, her hands resting on my shoulders.
Her fingers start kneading the rock-hard muscles there, and I can’t stop the low groan that escapes me.
It feels so good. So right. Her touch grounds me when the fear tries to take over.
“You don’t have to actually work on it,” she says quietly.
“I know.” I lean back into her hands, eyes closing for a second. “But it helps sell the lie if anyone is watching. Plus it keeps my mind busy while we wait. If I stop moving I’ll start thinking too much about what could go wrong.”
She leans down and presses a soft kiss to the top of my head. Her hair falls around me like a curtain. “You okay?”
“I’m better with you here.” I reach up and squeeze one of her hands, threading our fingers together.
“Last night… everything I said. The bathtub. Telling you I love you. That wasn’t heat-of-the-moment shit.
I meant every single word, Orchid. I love you.
I’m in love with you. And no matter what happens today, that doesn’t change. ”
Her breath catches. She squeezes my hand back, hard. “I know. I meant it too. I love you, Poe. More than I thought I could love anyone. You make me feel… safe. Even when the whole world is burning down around us. I don’t know what I would do without you anymore.”
We stay like that for a long time. Her hands on my shoulders.
My fingers occasionally typing nonsense lines of code.
The tension in the house builds slowly, thick and electric, like a storm gathering right over our heads.
Every minute that passes feels heavier. Closer.
I keep checking the clock. Serafina’ll be here soon.
Maddox and the team are out there somewhere, ready.
But until they move, it’s just us. Waiting.
Hoping. Loving each other in the eye of the coming hurricane.
Eventually Orchid pulls away. Her hands are shaking slightly as she picks up her encrypted phone. “It’s time.”
She dials Serafina and puts it on speaker so I can hear every word. My stomach knots so tight I feel sick. The woman answers on the second ring, voice smooth and cold.
“Report.”
Orchid’s voice is cool and professional again, the enforcer mask sliding perfectly back into place. Only I can see the way her free hand trembles at her side. “The hack is done. The systems are ours.”
Serafina lets out a low, satisfied laugh that sends ice sliding down my spine. “Excellent work, Orchid. I knew you could handle him. I’m coming to collect Poe personally. He’s proven very useful. I have big plans for him.”
Orchid’s fingers tighten around the phone until her knuckles turn white. “What plans?”
Serafina laughs again, colder this time, sharper. “You’ll see soon enough. I’ll be there within the hour. Keep him compliant. And Orchid… do not disappoint me now. Not when we are so close to everything I have worked for.”
The line goes dead.
Orchid sets the phone down slowly, like it might bite her. Her hands shake harder now. I stand up immediately and pull her into my arms, crushing her against my chest. She buries her face in my shirt and holds on like I’m the only thing keeping her upright.
“She’s coming,” she whispers, voice muffled. “And she sounded… happy. That’s never a good sign with her. She gets happy right before she destroys people.”
“We knew this was the plan,” I remind her, stroking her back in long, soothing strokes. My own heart races, but I keep my voice steady for her. “Maddox is ready. The second she shows her face, brAVO moves in. We just have to hold on a little longer. We can do this. Together.”
She nods against me, but I can feel the fear rolling off her in waves. I tilt her chin up and kiss her, slow and deep, trying to pour every ounce of love and confidence and promise into it. When I pull back I rest my forehead against hers.
“I’ve got you,” I say against her lips. “No matter what happens today, I’ve got you. I love you. We’re getting through this.”
The next fifty minutes are pure, agonizing tension.
We try to move around the house like it’s any other morning.
Orchid makes coffee with hands that only shake a little.
She pretends to read a book on the couch, but her eyes never leave the window.
Every creak of the house settling, every distant bird call, every gust of wind makes us both freeze and reach for each other.
My skin feels too tight. My pulse is a constant drum in my ears.
I keep looking at Orchid, memorizing her face, the way she moves, the determined set of her jaw.
If today goes wrong I want to remember every second of her.