Chapter 23 Aspen
Aspen
Iwake up before sunrise.
Not because I’m rested.
Because my mind won’t stop.
The man’s words from last night echo in my head.
You don’t even know who your husband really was.
I slide out of bed quietly.
The house is still.
I walk into the kitchen—
And stop.
Havoc is sitting at the table.
Laptop open.
Eyes dark.
Focused.
Like he hasn’t slept at all.
“Did you find something?” I ask softly.
He looks up at me.
For a second…
I see something in his expression.
Something heavy.
“We opened the drive,” he says.
My heart starts pounding.
“And?”
He hesitates.
Which tells me everything.
“Joseph was investigating something,” he says carefully.
“What kind of something?”
His voice lowers.
“Trafficking.”
I freeze.
“No.”
“He was trying to stop it.”
I shake my head.
“Joseph would have told me.”
Havoc doesn’t argue.
Because we both know the truth.
Men like Joseph didn’t always get to tell the people they loved everything.
“What does that mean for us?” I ask.
“I’m all they have,” I say quietly.
The words feel heavier out loud.
Like something fragile.
Something that could break if I’m not careful.
“My son…” I swallow. “He looks at me like I can fix everything.”
I shake my head slightly.
“But I don’t even know what I’m doing half the time.”
My voice cracks.
“I just… try not to let him see that.”
Havoc leans back slightly.
And the next words change everything.
“It means the people watching this house…”
“They’re not guessing.”
“They know he had this.”
My chest tightens.
“And now we have it.”
“Yes.”
Fear crawls up my spine.
For Dylan.
For Grandpa.
For everything we’ve just started to rebuild.
Havoc stands slowly.
And when he steps closer…
The room feels smaller.
Safer.
“All that matters right now,” he says quietly,
“is that we stay ahead of them.”
I swallow.
“And can we?”
His eyes lock on mine.
Cold.
Certain.
“Yes.”