Chapter 27 KATHERINE
KATHERINE
I feel like I’m about to combust. I’ve been a restless mess all day, and it’s only getting worse.
I’ve been pacing for the last ten minutes with Julian on my hip, though pacing is a generous word when my body feels too full of nerves to move naturally.
I keep drifting toward the windows, then away again, as if looking outside too hard might summon something I’m not ready to see. Or not see.
My son is warm in my arms, his cheek pressed against my collarbone as he babbles softly, entirely unaware of how fragile the air feels around us. His fingers curl into my shirt, anchoring himself the way babies do, like the world has never given him a reason not to trust it, and I envy him for it.
Ryder is leaning against the doorway, trying to look casual, like he’s not coiled tight beneath the surface.
He hasn’t said much, but he doesn’t need to.
The silence between us has weight now, the kind that comes when something precious is about to arrive and neither of us knows what shape the aftermath will take.
Addison.
The thought of her alone twists my chest. For weeks, she has been a voice breaking through static, trapped across an ocean, hunted and alone. Now she’s on her way here, and I’m barely able to hold myself together.
I tighten my hold on Julian and swallow hard just as the sound of tires on gravel reaches us. My breath catches, and Ryder’s head lifts immediately, his posture sharpening. I move to the window so fast I nearly trip over my own feet.
A black SUV crests the drive, dust rising behind it like a wake with Jace behind the wheel. It slows to a stop, my heart stops as the passenger door opens, and there she is.
Addison Avery Sinclair steps out like she’s emerging from a warzone because she is.
Her hair is pulled back, sunglasses hiding her eyes even though the day isn’t bright enough to require them, shoulders squared like armor.
She looks thinner and tighter, like she’s been running on adrenaline for too long.
Then she lifts her head, our eyes meet, and something in her face breaks.
“Kate,” she breathes.
I don’t walk—I run, Julian bouncing against my chest as my boots hit the porch steps too fast, the world narrowing down to my best friend. “Addison!”
She barely has time to take a second step before I’m there, colliding with her so hard she staggers, both of us clutching each other like we’re drowning.
“You’re alive,” I choke out, voice cracking.
“You’re alive,” she sobs back, laughing and crying at the same time. “I thought— oh God Kate, I thought I was going to—“
“Don’t,” I gasp, pulling back just enough to see her face. “Don’t you dare.”
Her sunglasses are gone now, and her eyes are bright with tears—fierce and exhausted. “I’m here,” she consoles. “I’m here.”
I make a sound that isn’t words and hug her again, harder, like if I let go, she’ll vanish. Julian chooses that moment to let out a curious little noise, and Addison freezes. Her gaze drops, landing on her godson sandwiched between us.
She reaches out carefully, her fingers brushing Julian’s cheek. He stares at her with wide seriousness, then smiles—gummy and perfect.
Addison makes a broken sound. “Hi, baby,” she murmurs, kissing his forehead gently. “Hi. I’ve been trying to get to you.”
Tears spill down my cheeks freely now.
Behind her, Jace steps out of the driver’s side. His voice is calm when he speaks, addressing Ryder, who is watching us from the porch. “I lost the tail, but it’s only a matter of time before they catch up.”
Addison exhales shakily, pressing her forehead briefly against mine. “We’re going to be okay, right?” she asks, voice shaking.
I swallow, heart aching with the enormity of her being here. I glance past her to Ryder, who’s watching us with a feral and protective look in his eyes.
“Yes,” I nod, because if there’s one thing I believe in, it’s that Ryder is going to keep us safe.
I take her hand and lead her towards the house. I hand Julian to Ryder before leading Addison into the house and up the stairs. There will be time for introductions later.
It isn’t until the door closes behind us that Addison finally breaks.
All the adrenaline that has carried her across oceans, airports, and highways has nowhere left to go now, so it leaks out through shaking fingers and a long, shuddering exhale.
I let her have a moment before she turns to me, eyes bright with fury and fear.
“Kate, what the fuck? I feel like we’re living in a movie. Since when did our lives become a series of hit lists, extractions, and bombings?”
My shoulders sag as the weight of everything weighs on me. “I know. I’m just as confused and rattled as you are, if not more.”
I sit slowly on the edge of the bed, hands twisting together in my lap because I don’t know where else to put them. Addison paces once, then stops so abruptly to face me. “I sent you to him,” she continues, voice cracking. “Do you understand that? I sent you to him.”
My throat tightens painfully. “I know.”
Her eyes flash. “I told you to go because I thought he was the only chance you had, as his name wasn’t on the kill list. But I didn’t think he’d be the cause of all this.
Now his house was bombed, you’re here in the middle of fucking Texas, and—“ Her breath stutters. “I didn’t think it would become this.”
“Neither did I,” I whisper. “But you were right to send us to him—you saved us.”
She rubs a hand over her face, exhaustion bleeding through the cracks. “Saved you? More like sent my best friend into the arms of the man who started all this!” She gestures around us frantically.
My chest aches. “You didn’t know him, and neither did I.”
Addison drops onto the bed next to me. “I need to know everything. Start from the beginning, and don’t you dare leave anything out.”
“Okay,” I nod, facing her.
So I tell her everything from the moment she called me about the kill list, the torturous trip to get to Ryder’s home, introducing him to Julian for the first time, him slowly accepting us, the attack, coming to Iron Stallion, and everything in between.
When I’m done, Addison leans back, staring at the ceiling like she’s trying to process the scale of it. “Fuck, our lives really are a movie.”
I lie down as well and turn to face her. “It’s a horrible movie,” I say, giggling.
She chuckles as well, nudging my shoulder. “You can say that again.” She falls silent before her eyes cut back to me. “And Ryder—what is he to you now?”
My stomach twists, and I hesitate too long.
Addison’s brows lift slowly. “Oh my God.”
“Addy—“
“You’re together?!” she exclaims, scandalized. “Kate Ellington, who once cried because a barista spelled her name wrong, is dating a lethal mountain ghost with a gun collection.”
A laugh breaks out of me, wet and helpless. “Shut up, and in my defense, I was high on pregnancy hormones that day, and that barista was just mean.”
She pulls me into an embrace while I wipe at my cheeks. “It wasn’t supposed to happen. I didn’t go up that mountain looking for love. I went looking for survival, for my son and me.”
Addison sobers instantly. “And what did you find?”
I think of Ryder watching Julian sleep, of his arms around me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear, and his voice saying he’ll try.
“Him,” I whisper.
Addison’s expression softens, devastation and understanding folding together. “Oh, Kate. Don’t worry, we’re going to survive this. You, me, Julian… even Ryder Morgan’s emotionally repressed ass.”
A broken laugh escapes me through tears, and she squeezes tighter. “I didn’t come all this way to lose you. Not after I found him for you. Not now. Not ever.”
I lean into her hug, letting myself soak into the truth of her being here, solid and alive.
When we step back into the main part of the house, the air feels subtly different than it did an hour ago.
Zane is already organizing men and perimeter checks. Jace is on the phone, and I hear mentions of police and FBI in there. Tessa stands near him with her tablet open, fingers moving quickly, tracking things I can’t see.
Beck is leaning against the hallway wall, arms folded, watching Addison approach like he’s deciding what kind of trouble she is. Addison, for her part, lifts her chin like she’s faced worse than a ranch full of lethal cowboys. Which, to be fair, she has.
Quinn approaches us first, hair pulled back in a sleek knot, her expression composed in that corporate way that makes her look like she could negotiate a peace treaty while holding a baby.
She looks Addison up and down once, then she smiles. “You must be Addison.”
My best friend blinks. “I am.”
Quinn holds out her hand. “Quinn Morgan. Welcome to Iron Stallion. Sorry about the circumstances.”
Addison lets out a short laugh as she shakes it. “Story of my life.”
Ava comes next, softer but no less steady, her pop-star beauty almost surreal in this house of guns and scars.
Addison’s eyes nearly bug out when she recognizes her. “Is that?” she whispers, nudging me.
I nod just as Ava gets to us.
“Ava Morgan. Nice to meet you,” she smiles, holding her hand out.
Addison’s shaky hand envelops hers. “The pleasure is all mine. I’m a huge fan.”
Ava is gracious enough to offer her a hug. Addison turns crimson, mouthing “Oh my God” over Ava’s shoulder. I giggle watching the interaction with amusement. I knew she’d get a kick out of learning who Ava Noa really is, and I was not wrong.
The moment is interrupted by the familiar sound of boots on wood.
Ryder walks in, broad shoulders filling the space without effort.
Addison pulls away from Ava’s hug and stiffens instinctively.
His gaze flicks to her, and they hold eye contact for a long beat.
There’s no warmth or hostility, just recognition.
Two people who understand the cost of being hunted.
Addison clears her throat. “Thank you for your help getting me here.”
Ryder doesn’t answer with words—he inclines his head once, and that’s as close as he gets to introductions.
Addison huffs softly. “God, Kate, of course you fell for the silent one.”
“Addison,” I warn, mortified.
Beck snorts. “Oh, I like her already.”
Ryder’s eyes shift to Beck, and the culprit immediately raises his hands. “What? I’m behaving.”
Ryder steps closer to me instead, his hand brushing my lower back briefly—grounding and possessive all at once. The gesture is small, almost unconscious, but it sends a pulse of heat through me anyway.
Addison notices, and her brows lift in pure disbelief.
I ignore her, and instead, I turn to Ryder, my voice softer. “Thank you.”
His gaze sharpens. “For what?”
“For making sure she got home.”
Something tightens in his jaw, like gratitude makes him uncomfortable. “It was necessary,” he replies.
Before I can argue, Jace speaks up. “We need to start talking strategies. Hassan will be upon us soon, and we need to be ready.”
Addison’s shoulders square again—journalist turned survivor. “I told you I didn’t want to bring trouble to you guys by leading them here.”
Quinn’s smile is sharp as she responds. “Honey, this ranch was built for trouble.”
Addison looks like she doesn’t believe her, but she doesn’t have a choice.
Everyone gets to planning, and I stand there, between my best friend and the man who has become my impossible heartbeat, surrounded by a family that moves like a unit when war comes knocking.
Hassan Yusuf Barre wanted to send a message, and he succeeded, but Iron Stallion is already writing one back, and the war is no longer approaching.
It’s here, and we’ll be ready for it.