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Guilt surges up hot and accusing in my chest. This. This is why I should have had the sense to prevent things from going as far as they did tonight.

“I’m sorry, Nora. I should have been more considerate of that before we—”

To my surprise, she laughs. “Seriously, Elias. Don’t apologize for that. I enjoyed myself, if you couldn’t tell.”

I open my mouth to speak, but she stops me with a finger pressed against my lips. Deterred, I bite it gently.

“Unless it wasn’t something you wanted?” Her brow furrows. “Shit, Elias, I didn’t mean to make you feel—”

It’s my turn to interrupt her. “Let’s just agree that we both wanted it?”

“Alright,” she says, letting out a relieved breath. “I’m still sorry, though, that tonight was such a mess.”

“You already know how I feel about you apologizing for that.”

“I know. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop doing it.”

As much as I want to keep arguing the point, I know it can rest for now. In time, she’ll understand she never needs to feel guilt about asking for or accepting my help, but not tonight.

“About what happened,” I say, choosing my words carefully. “I think it would be a good idea to report this to the authorities.”

We probably should have already, but between the primal need to get her somewhere safe, and the even more primal need that overtook us both once we got here, the thought left my head entirely.

Nora, however, doesn’t seem to share the same idea.

“I don’t know if I want to go to the police. Not yet, at least.”

“Why not?”

Nora shudders slightly and burrows closer to my side. I push another strand of hair out of her face and hold her tight, waiting for as long as she needs to answer.

“What would I even say to them? My ex left a note for me? How can I even prove it was him? I mean, I know his handwriting, but it’s not like my word is going to be enough to arrest him. And if one of my neighbors let him in, it’s not exactly trespassing, is it? What would reporting him do, other than piss him off?”

My jaw clenches. “It would get him on their radar, at least. Leave a paper trail in case…”

I can’t finish the thought over the wave of breath-stealing anger that moves through me. Nothing’s going to happen to her.

“In case he escalates?”

“I won’t let that happen.”

It’s a bold claim, and one I’m still not sure how I’m going to back up—something Nora’s probably more than aware of as she props herself up on an elbow and raises a brow as she looks at me.

“Is that right?”

“Yes,” I tell her, tugging her back down against my chest.

She lets me, but she’s not willing to let the topic rest. “This isn’t your battle—”

“Little siren.” It’s a warning, and maybe I’m overstepping yet again, assuming things I shouldn’t, asking her for too much, but I don’t particularly care. Not when it’s this important. “As long as you’re here with me, it’s my battle. Since the moment you called and asked for my help, it’s been my battle. Let me fight it with you.”

The hand she has resting on my chest contracts, nails sinking just a little into my skin, and I welcome the slight sting of pain, even as she realizes what she’s done a moment later and relaxes her grip.

“I don’t want you to get hurt. And I don’t mean just physically. Daniel is a bastard. I don’t know what kind of shit he’d pull if he found out you were a part of it.”

“I can handle Sorenson.”

“Elias,” she says, firming up her grip once again. “I mean it.”