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The meeting broke up. At this point, we were so comfortable with each other that we didn’t really stand on ceremony. I walked them to the door, went out with them, and stood on the porch in the darkness. It seemed like Evelyn was asleep, but I didn’t want to freak her out if she was still listening.

“I want extra security,” I said. “At the gates and around the house until we catch this fucker.”

“No arguments from me,” Harlan said. “I don’t like the idea of someone being able to do this without us noticing.”

“Me either,” Jude rumbled. “I’ll take care of it.”

The rest of them faded away until it was just me, Harlan, and Daniel.

“So much for not getting in too deep,” Daniel said with a chuckle.

“I won’t apologize for it.”

He held up a hand. “I’m not asking you to. I need to ask how deep you are now. How far are you willing to go for this woman?”

There wasn’t any judgment in the question. He was asking so that he could know and move accordingly. But still, the answer felt like stripping myself bare. For Evelyn, I would do anything. “All the way.”

Daniel and Harlan nodded. “All right,” Daniel said. “Then we’ll catch the fucker.”

“I need to let Grace know about this.” Harlan sighed. “She’s close enough. He could have crossed her land.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I imagine that’ll go well.”

He smirked. “About as well as last time.”

“She ended up giving you a ride home?”

Daniel choked on a laugh. “I’d say she did.”

Harlan glared, but didn’t disagree.

“I got an eyeful of this one kissing her, until she took the opportunity to slap him so hard his neck almost snapped.” Daniel was clearly trying to hold back his mirth.

“It was a misunderstanding,” Harlan said.

I shook my head. “What the hell happened between the two of you?”

His face hardened. “A story for a different time.”

I nodded. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

“I’ll grab Liam, and we’ll take the first watch.”

“Thanks.” Once inside, I locked the door behind me and activated the alarm system. We were as protected as we could make ourselves right now. The only thing that could be done was to wait until we found Nathan. Hopefully, that would be sooner rather than later.

Evelyn was well and truly asleep by the fire, Aspen curled up on her feet. I reached down to pet the dog. “Good boy,” I whispered. He licked my hand once in response.

I didn’t want her to spend the night in a chair. I eased the blanket aside and lifted her into my arms. Like this, she felt so small. So light. Delicate. Something that needed protection.

But she was strong. Stronger than I was. She’d survived everything this monster had thrown at her so far, and I was going to make sure that she succeeded.

The guest room wasn’t far. I carried her into the dark space, lit faintly from the lights in the living room. Evelyn jerked awake as I went to put her on the bed. She struggled for a moment before she realized that it was me. And the way that she relaxed when she did wasn’t something I would take for granted.

She looked around. Her voice was laced with sleep. “This isn’t your room.”

Breath stilled in my chest. “I would never assume that, Evelyn. Staying with me doesn’t have to mean anything that you don’t want it to.”

She twisted in my arms, lifting herself up to kiss me. “Please.” Her voice was soft. “Please assume. Don’t leave me alone.” Another gentle press of her lips. “Please.”