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“I know that. But try telling Lucille that.” Audrey’s voice drops to a whisper. “I’m scared, Reign. Having him that close,every day, pretending to be concerned about his recovery when all I can think about is you.”

The fear in her voice cuts through my rage like cold water. She’s trapped, more trapped now than before, and there’s nothing I can do to fix it from here.

“Where will you be sleeping?”

“My room is on the second floor. The guest room is on the first floor, but still.” She pauses. “He’ll be right there. All the time.”

I want to tell her to pack a bag and drive straight to my cabin. I want to tell her to walk out of that hospital and never look back. But I know she won’t. Not with her father’s company hanging in the balance.

“Listen to me, Princess.” I keep my voice low and steady. “This changes nothing between us. You hear me? Nothing.”

“But how can you say that? He’ll be living in my house.”

“Because you’re mine, Audrey. That doesn’t change because some bastard is sleeping in your guest room.” My voice hardens with certainty. “He can live in your house, eat at your table, recover from his injuries, but he will never have you. That belongs to me.”

“Reign...”

“I’m going to fix this,” I tell her, cutting off whatever protest she was about to make.

“How? How can you possibly fix this mess?”

“Because that’s what I do. I solve problems that other people can’t solve.” I turn away from Marcus and lower my voice even more. “You’re mine, Audrey. That means your problems are my problems. And I don’t leave my problems unsolved.”

“I want to believe you. But I’m so tired of hoping for things that can’t happen.”

Her words hit deeper than I want to admit. Because she’s not wrong to be tired. She’s been carrying the weight of her father’sdebts for two years, sacrificing her own happiness to save a company that might not even be worth saving. And now I’m asking her to believe that I can somehow make it all better.

“How long will Gio be in the hospital?” I ask.

“Three or four days, maybe. Depends on how the ribs heal.”

Three or four days to come up with a plan. Three or four days to figure out how to eliminate Vega without destroying Audrey in the process. It’s not much time, but it’s what I have.

“I need you to do something for me.”

“What?”

“I need you to act normal. Don’t let him see that you’re scared. Don’t let him think anything has changed between you two.”

“I don’t know if I can do that.”

“You can. You’ve been doing it for months.” I pause, choosing my words carefully. “And I need you to pay attention. If he says anything about the bombing, anything about who might have done it or what he plans to do about it, I need to know.”

“You want me to spy on him?”

“I want you to survive this. And that means being smart about what information you have access to.”

She’s quiet for a long moment, and I can almost hear her thinking. Finally, she speaks.

“Okay. I can do that.”

“Good girl.” The pride in my voice is genuine. “This isn’t over, Princess. Not by a long shot.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I am right. I’m going to get you out of this mess, and then I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure no one ever traps you again.”

“Promise me.”