My mind is spinning with the weight of it.
And yet… my instincts scream something different. That this—this possibility, this escape—isn’t wrong. It’s not running.
It’s choosing peace.
I step back slightly, staring up at him, breath catching in my throat.
“Are we really considering this?”
His arms wrap around me again, pulling me close. His lips brush my forehead.
“So long as you’re there,” he says, “I don’t care where we live.”
I breathe in his scent, grounding myself. “We should sleep on it,” I murmur. “Even though, you know, I don’t actually sleep anymore.”
His mouth tips in a tired smile. “Then come to bed with me anyway.”
We walk hand in hand down the hallway, feet quiet against the hardwood, the glow of the city behind us slowly dimming as we step into the bedroom.
We don’t say anything as we change clothes. When I climb into bed, Ares is already lying on his side, arm outstretched, just waiting for me to climb in.
I curl into him, my face against his chest, my fingers resting over his heart—beating steady and strong.
The heart I almost lost.
He kisses the top of my head.
I close my eyes.
I don’t sleep.
But for the first time in weeks, I rest.
Chapter 20
Idon’t sleep.
I don’t need to anymore. Still, I stay in bed, curled against Ares, watching the first shades of gray seep in around the curtains. The city is quiet in that final hour before the sun rises, the world paused, like it’s holding its breath.
My mind is a storm I can’t step out of. But it isn’t panic that keeps me awake. It’s something else.
Clarity.
When Ares stirs, his brow creases, and he blinks slowly, eyes adjusting. He finds me immediately in the dim light, like he always does, and something passes between us—like a current, invisible and undeniable.
“I think we should move to Chicago,” I say softly.
He breathes out once. “I think so too, Vengeance.”
No hesitation. No doubt.
Relief crashes through me so hard I almost shake. I close my eyes. We’re done looking. We’re done chasing ghosts. We’re choosing safety. We’re choosing each other. We’re choosing peace.
“What now?” I ask as I pull the blanket off and sit up.
He mirrors the movement. “We’ve got five days left. I’ll need to tell my staff, get a transition manager in place. There’s a lot I’ll need to sell. A lot I’ll want to keep.”
I nod, rubbing a hand over my arms even though I don’t feel cold. “I’ll book our flights. Three days? That should give us enough time, right? To wrap things up, at least to a degree, tell everyone?” My mind spirals as I start running through the list of people we need to tell. “How the hell are we supposed to tell Florence and Clementine?”
