Chapter 41
Tessa
Iwake up warm.
That’s the first thing I notice.
Not the room.
Not the light coming in through the window.
Not the faint sound of someone moving around in the kitchen.
Warm.
Solid.
Safe.
For a second, I don’t move.
Because I know what that means.
Slowly, I open my eyes.
Ace.
I’m tucked against him on the couch, my head on his chest, his arm still wrapped around me like he never let go.
Like he wouldn’t let go.
My fingers are still curled in his shirt.
I didn’t even realize I fell asleep like that.
I stay still for a moment, just… taking it in.
The steady rise and fall of his breathing.
The warmth of his body.
The way his hand rests heavy and protective against my back.
No tension.
No fear.
Just—
Peace.
It’s unfamiliar.
And somehow… perfect.
I shift slightly, careful not to wake him—
But his arm tightens instantly.
“You always try to sneak away?” his voice rumbles, rough with sleep.
I smile before I can stop myself.
“I wasn’t sneaking.”
“Mm-hmm.”
His chin brushes the top of my head as he exhales slowly.
“You were thinking about it.”
“Maybe.”
His hand slides slightly against my back, like he’s making sure I’m still there.
“Don’t,” he murmurs.
Something soft pulls in my chest.
“I wasn’t going far.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
I tilt my head just enough to look up at him.
His eyes are still half closed, but he’s awake now.
Watching me.
Always watching.
“You sleep like this?” I ask quietly.
“With someone in my arms?”
“Yeah.”
A faint smirk touches his mouth.
“Not usually.”
My heart does that little flip again.
“And last night?”
His gaze sharpens just a little.
“Last night wasn’t usual.”
No.
It wasn’t.
The house is waking up around us.
Footsteps.
A cabinet opening.
Blaze’s voice—muttering about something not working right.
I shift again, sitting up a little this time.
Ace’s arm drops reluctantly from my back, but his hand lingers at my waist for a second before he lets go.
That small hesitation?
I feel it.
“You hungry?” he asks.
“A little.”
“Stay here.”
I raise a brow. “You going to bring me breakfast?”
His mouth twitches.
“Don’t get used to it.”
“Too late.”
That almost earns me a real smile.
Almost.
He stands, stretching slightly, and for a second I just… watch him.
Strong. Controlled. Still carrying the weight of last night—but steady.
Reliable.
Dangerous in a way that doesn’t scare me anymore.
Not when it’s turned toward protecting me.
He glances back at me.
“Something on your mind?”
“Just thinking,” I say.
“About?”
I hesitate.
Then tell the truth.
“You didn’t let go of me all night.”
Something shifts in his expression.
Not discomfort.
Not exactly.
Something deeper.
“I wasn’t going to.”
My breath catches slightly at how simple he makes it sound.
Like it wasn’t a decision.
Like it just… was.
Ace
She’s watching me.
I feel it before I even turn around.
And yeah—I know what she’s thinking.
About last night.
About how close everything got.
About how I didn’t let go.
I grab a couple mugs from the cabinet, mostly to give myself something to do.
Blaze is already at the table, laptop open, three screens going, and that look on his face that says he’s found something he doesn’t like.
“Morning,” he mutters without looking up.
“Problem?” I ask.
“Always.”
Figures.
“What kind?”
“The kind that didn’t die with Daniel.”
That gets my full attention.
I step closer. “Talk.”
Blaze finally looks up.
Serious now.
“Daniel wasn’t operating clean,” he says. “He had help.”
A cold edge slides into my chest.
“What kind of help?”
“Financial. Digital. Movement tracking. Somebody was feeding him information.”
I glance toward the living room.
Toward her.
“Who?” I ask.
Blaze shakes his head. “Still digging. But this—” he taps the screen “—this wasn’t just obsession. This was supported obsession.”
That’s worse.
A lot worse.
Because obsession you can predict.
You can trap.
You can end.
But someone backing him?
That’s a whole different problem.
“Does she know?” Blaze asks quietly.
I follow his gaze.
Tessa’s still on the couch.
Watching us.
Reading us.
Smart.
Too smart to miss this.
“Not yet,” I say.
Blaze nods once. “She’s going to.”
Yeah.
She is.
Because she’s not the kind of woman you keep things from.
Not anymore.
Tessa
I can tell something’s wrong.
Before Ace even turns back toward me—
I know.
It’s in the way his shoulders tighten.
The way Blaze stops typing.
The way the air in the room shifts.
I stand.
Walk toward them.
Slow.
Steady.
“You going to tell me,” I say, “or am I going to have to guess?”
Ace looks at me.
And I see it.
That hesitation.
That protective instinct kicking in again.
But this time—
He doesn’t shut me out.
“Daniel wasn’t alone,” he says.
My stomach drops.
“What does that mean? We already know he had men helping him shoot at us.”
Blaze answers this time.
“It means someone helped him find you. He’s watched you since the day you were released from prison.”
Silence fills the room.
Heavy.
Sharp.
Dangerous all over again.
My heart starts to beat faster—
But not from fear.
From something else.
Something colder.
“So this isn’t over,” I say.
Ace’s jaw tightens.
“No.”
I nod slowly.
Processing.
Adjusting.
Because I’ve done this before.
I’ve lived in the space where danger doesn’t just disappear.
Where it waits.
Builds.
Comes back stronger.
I look at Ace.
“Then we don’t wait for it,” I say.
His eyes lock onto mine.
Sharp.
Focused.
“And we don’t run.”
A beat.
Then—
Something shifts in him.
Not resistance.
Not this time.
Agreement.
“Yeah,” he says quietly.
“We don’t.”