The old Nova Wilde, pop sensation, might hide in a panic room while others fight her battles.
But that's not who I am anymore. Not really. Not here, on this mountain, in this house that has come to feel more like home than anywhere I've lived in years. Not after finding the kind of passionate, soul-deep connection with Finn that I never believed existed outside of love songs.
Here, I'm just Nova. A woman who has found something worth fighting for. Worth risking everything for.
Finn.
I move to the weapons cabinet built into the wall of the panic room. Finn showed me the contents when he first brought me here, explaining each item with the patient thoroughness of a man who leaves nothing to chance.
I select a handgun, the one he said would be easiest for someone with minimal training to handle. Check the safety.Verify it's loaded. All according to his instructions, delivered in that calm, confident voice I've come to rely on.
Finn, who taught me how to protect myself because he understands that true security comes from within, not just from walls and locks and men with guns.
Finn, who might be hurt or worse because he went after my stalker alone.
Finn, who I love too much to hide while he's in danger.
I take a deep breath, steadying myself. Then I move to the panic room door, entering the release code on the keypad. The locks disengage with a soft click that sounds impossibly loud in the silence.
This is madness. This is courage. This is love.
I push open the door and step into the master bedroom, gun held in the ready position Finn taught me. The house is silent around me, no indication of the intruder I saw on the cameras.
But he's here. Somewhere. Looking for me.
Instead, he's going to find a very different Nova Wilde than the terrified woman who fled Los Angeles less than a week ago.
He's going to find a woman who has learned what it means to fight for someone you love.
I movethrough the house silently, clearing rooms the way Finn showed me. Checking corners, staying low, using furniture for cover. My heart pounds so loudly I'm certain Vance must hear it, wherever he's hiding.
But the cabin remains silent. Empty. No sign of the intruder I saw on the cameras.
I begin to doubt myself. Maybe it was one of the brothers, returning briefly to check the house. Maybe it was a shadow, a trick of light on the monitor. Maybe my fear is making me see threats where none exist.
Then I hear it. A soft creak from the front porch. The careful pressure of weight on old boards.
He's outside. Still looking for a way in.
I position myself in the living room, concealed behind the large leather chair that gives me a clear view of the front door and windows without exposing me to sight from outside.
And I wait. Breathing controlled. Hands steady around the gun. Mind focused with a clarity I've never experienced before.
Is this how Finn feels in moments of danger? This strange, detached calm where fear exists but doesn't control?
The front door handle turns slowly. Testing. Finding it locked.
A shadow passes across the window, then another. Minutes pass. Or maybe hours. Time loses meaning in the heightened state of waiting, of knowing that eventually he will find a way in, or I will find a way to alert the brothers without endangering Finn.
The radio in my pocket crackles suddenly, shattering the silence.
"Nova." Finn's voice, strained but alive. "Nova, are you there? Answer me."
Relief floods through me so intensely it nearly breaks my concentration. Finn is alive. Hurt maybe, from the sound of his voice, but alive.
I want to respond, to tell him I'm okay, to warn him about Vance. But if I speak, it may give away my position.
The decision is made for me when the window behind me shatters, glass exploding inward as a figure forces entry into the cabin.
