"She won't be alone," Finn says. "I'm calling in my brothers."
Cade nods in agreement. "Elias knows every inch of these forests. Boone has tactical medical training if things go south. Sawyer has law enforcement authority. And Luke's a better shot than any of us."
"And you?" I ask Finn, not liking where this is heading. "What will you be doing?"
His eyes meet mine, and what I see there sends a chill down my spine. Not anger or fear, but something colder, more calculated. The look of a predator preparing to eliminate a threat.
"I'll be ending this," he says quietly. "Once and for all."
"You mean killing him," I say, needing to hear it plainly.
"If necessary."
"It won't come to that," Frank interjects quickly. "The FBI wants this man alive to face charges. There are protocols, procedures."
"I don't care about protocols," Finn says, his voice eerily calm. "I care about making sure Nova is safe. Permanently."
"Finn." I touch his arm, feeling the tension vibrating through him. "I don't want anyone dying because of me. Not even him."
Something shifts in his expression, a softening around the eyes that only I can see. "We'll do it by the book if possible. But if it comes down to him or you..."
He doesn't finish the sentence. He doesn't need to. We all know what choice he'll make.
"I'm sending all the FBI files to your secure server," Frank says, breaking the tension. "Photos, psych evaluation, everything they have on Vance. Study it. Know your enemy."
"We will," Cade assures him. "Tell the FBI to stay out of our way until we call them in. Too many unfamiliar faces in these woods will only complicate things."
"I'll pass that along, but I can't promise they'll listen."
"Make them listen," Finn says. "Or this ends with a body bag instead of an arrest."
The call ends, leaving the three of us standing in tense silence. A trained killer is hunting me, possibly watching this cabin right now, planning how to get to me. I should be falling apart.
But, I’m still strangely calm.
"I'll call the others," Cade says, already reaching for his phone. "They can be here within two hours."
Finn nods, his mind clearly already formulating plans, strategies, contingencies. I watch him shift fully into the operative he once was, all personal feelings locked away behind professional focus.
And despite everything, despite the danger and the fear and the uncertainty of what comes next, I find myself falling even harder for this complicated, dangerous, utterly devoted man.
"I should get my things from upstairs," I say, needing a moment alone to process everything that's happening. "If your brothers are coming, I'm guessing I'll be relocating to a more secure room."
"The panic room off the main bedroom," Finn confirms, his eyes softening slightly as they meet mine. "It's the most secure place in the house. Reinforced walls, separate ventilation system, its own power supply. You'll be safe there while we deal with this."
"While you hunt the man who's hunting me."
"Yes."
I nod, accepting the reality of our situation. "Okay," I say, turning toward the stairs. "I'll pack my things."
I feel his eyes on me as I walk away, feel the weight of everything unsaid between us. The fear, the hope, the possibility of something neither of us expected to find in the midst of this nightmare.
Whatever happens next, whether Vance is captured or killed, whether I return to my old life or forge a new one here on this mountain, nothing will be the same after today. I know it with a certainty that should terrify me but somehow doesn't.
Because for the first time in my life, I'm not running from danger or hiding from feelings or pretending to be someone I'm not.
I'm standing my ground, facing whatever comes next with clear eyes and an open heart.
