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Rose woke with a sharp inhale, her body rigid.

Darkness pressed against her senses, thick and absolute. For a disorienting moment, she was back in the Io, trapped beneath the lake’s crushing weight, sealed in steel and silence.

Her pulse pounded against her skin as she blinked.

The distant rumble of early morning traffic. The clatter of her aging bedroom radiator fighting January’s bitter chill. The clink of china drifting up from her kitchen.

Home.

She took a deep breath, reached across the rumpled sheets, finding them still warm from where Finn had been sleeping. The lingering impression of his body calmed her racing heart. Just weeks ago, she’d slept alone in this bed, keeping the world at arm’s length. Now Finn had quietly claimed his space in her bed, in her life, as if he’d always belonged there.

Pushing the covers back, she rose, the morning air chilly against her skin. She pulled on her robe and padded barefoot downstairs, following the scent of coffee like a lifeline.

Finn stood shirtless at her kitchen counter, one hand braced on the marble while the other worked the plunger of the French press. The worn denim of his jeans stretched across the curve of his thighs, and the muscles in his forearms flexed as he pressed down. The sight of him so casually domestic in her space sent a rush of warmth through her chest.

He glanced up as she entered, his lips curving lazily, already reaching for her favorite mug. “Coffee?”

Rose stepped in behind him, slipping her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek to the firm plane of his back as she soaked up the solid heat of his body.

Finn turned in her arms. His broad hands settled low on her hips, pulling her close. She melted into him, the slow thud-thud of his heart beneath her ear easing the last of her nightmare’s fading tension.

“I like this,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest.

“Just as well I’m not going anywhere then.” His lips brushed the top of her head, the rumble of his voice sinking into her.

She lifted her face to his. “You think I’ll get the Bergen position?”

Her research had been suspended, Gina moved sideways to a new project. She’d spent the last few days clearing out her desk under Haverham’s beady eye.

“They’d be fools not to take you. When’s the interview again?”

“Tuesday.” She traced patterns on his chest with her fingertip. “I never thought I’d leave London, you know. Before the Io, my entire world was here. Work. More work. Even more?—”

“And now?” His eyes searched hers.

“Now I’m ready for something new. Being near you, finding a way to help Remy permanently—it’s worth moving for.”

He pressed a kiss to her temple.

“I’m finally stepping outside the box I built around myself. Science was enough before, but now I know there’s more.”

Finn pulled back and his smile morphed into a smirk. “I’d hire you.” His gaze flicked downward, trailing along the curve of her leg where her robe had parted. The heat in his eyes sent an answering flush rising beneath her skin.

God . He only had to look at her like that, and she was burning.

She snatched a grape from the fruit bowl and lobbed it at his head.

Finn dodged, laughing as he caught her wrist and spun her onto the barstool. He kissed the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist. “Resorting to projectiles now?”

She let out a breathless laugh, her pulse still dancing from the heat of his gaze.

Happiness. The scientist in her had given up trying to quantify it—to understand how it had slipped so easily into her life after years of uncertainty.He was here, and nothing else mattered.

The rest was just details.

He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, his thumb brushing her cheek withtenderness. “It’ll all work out.” His voice was certain in a way that made her believe him. “Wait and see. Everything always does. Now—sit. Breakfast is almost ready.”

As she crossed to her small table beside the French windows, she spotted a small package next to her laptop on the dresser. Unmarked, except for a plain white label.

She frowned. “What’s this?”

Finn glanced over his shoulder. “That came for you this morning while you were asleep. Courier dropped it off.”

She stared at the package. It was light as she ripped it open.

Steam curled from the coffee Finn placed at her elbow. “What is it?”

“A key.”

She laid it on the table, dull silver against the pale oak.

Finn lifted the key. “Is there a note?”

She pulled a single sheet of paper from the package.“Just this.A number and a postal code.” Finn pulled out his phone, tapping the information in. A few seconds later, he turned the screen to her. “It’s the number of a unit in a storage facility. Southwest London. What do you say we finish breakfast and check it out?”

The drive took them through London’s sprawling suburbs, the city gradually thinning into industrial parks and forgotten corners. She turned the key over repeatedly during the journey, but was no closer to answers when they arrived at the lockup.

“This is the address?”

Rose unfolded the sheet of paper in her lap. “Yup.”

Finn exhaled sharply, scanning the industrial estate like it had offended him. He opened the car door but didn’t move to get out just yet. His brows knit together, a little crease forming between them.

Rose didn’t blame him for hesitating. The place looked abandoned, or close enough. Many of the units sported faded “For Sale” signs, their edges bent from neglect. The entire area had that back-of-beyond feel, the kind where cell service was spotty and bad things happened in crime shows. She glanced around, taking in the silent asphalt lot, the rusting security fence with twisted barbed wire. The sun was shining, but the place still gave her a chill.

Finn pushed out a breath and swung his legs out. “Wait here while I check the area.”

“You’re still not one hundred percent?—”

“I’m good.” He gave her arm a quick squeeze, then disappeared down the side of the building with the easy confidence of someone who either wasn’t worried about danger or was just too damn used to it.

She shifted in her seat, rubbing her arms against the lingering cold. She checked left, then right. No movement. No sound but the distant hum of the motorway.

A moment later, Finn reappeared. “It’s clear.” He gestured toward the unit door. “But let me open it.”

The edges of the key dug into her palm. “What, so you can get blown up if it’s booby-trapped?”

Finn pried the key from her fingers with a grin. “I’m the safety guy, remember?” He crouched, unlocked the padlock, then heaved the shutter upward. The metal groaned in protest, rolling to reveal a glass-paneled door on the other side, opaque with dust.

Rose swallowed. The glass gave nothing away.

Finn unlocked the door and pushed it open. Darkness swallowed the space beyond. The air drifting out smelled of stale concrete. His hands skimmed the wall, feeling for a switch. A second later, fluorescent lights flared on with a resigned hum.

The space was massive, stretching far beyond what the exterior suggested. Overhead, skylights blinked open as Finn flipped more switches, letting shafts of natural light spill in.

The unit was packed with equipment, all shrouded in protective plastic sheeting that crinkled under her fingertips.

Finn lifted an edge of plastic. “What the hell is all of this?”

Rose tugged at a sheet, pulling it free. It slid to the floor, pooling noisily around her feet. Her heart stumbled. “No way.” She ran her hand along the cold metal.This wasn’t just any equipment?—

“Rose?” His eyes cut toward her.

She shook her head, struggling to process what she was seeing. “This is a nanoparticle tracking analyzer.”

Finn let out a short disbelieving laugh. “That really clears things up.”

She tugged at another sheet. “And this is a controlled atmosphere glove box. The Rolls-Royce of sterile containment systems.”

She pulled the covers from equipment after equipment, the thick plastic rustling, not quite believing what she was seeing.

“With this kind of equipment, I could start working on a solution for Remy without waiting for approvals or funding.” She spun in a slow circle, taking in the treasure trove of technology, cold heaviness in her stomach. What was the catch? Who sent her the key to Aladdin’s cave?

Finn tugged at a last sheet. It slithered to the ground, revealing something small beneath it. He bent, lifted it carefully, then turned to her, his expression unreadable.

“Rose.” He handed her a framed photograph.

It was the photograph she’d carried for years, its edges worn soft from time, tucked into the lining of her purse like a talisman. The same one she’d given to Thea at the archeological dig in a desperate attempt to bridge the chasm between them. The one that Thea had tossed back at her with a derisive snort, as if the past meant nothing.

And yet, here it was. The two of them immortalized in the sunshine, broad smiles on their faces.

“All of this must be from Thea.” Her breath snagged in her throat.

“Thea?” Finn’s head twitched, his posture stiffening. “No one’s seen her since she upped and left the dig site.”

“I know, but it has to be.”

His jaw tightened. “She sent all of this? She could barely look at you last time you saw her.”

“I know. It doesn’t make sense.” She hugged her upper arms, stealing glances around the space. Thea never gave anything for nothing. “Is this is an apology or a challenge?”

“With Thea? Probably both. Think about it.” His tone sharpened. “This is a fortune.” He gestured around them. “If she wanted to make peace, why not just talk to you?”

Rose swallowed. So much of what he said was right. Thea always had an agenda. But the opportunity to come up with a working solution for Remy? This could change everything. “Maybe she couldn’t. Maybe this was the only way.” Even after everything she wanted to believe there was hope.

Finn’s cheeks puffed, his gaze locked on hers. “Or maybe she knows exactly what she’s doing—pulling you in, making you feel you owe her. That there’s still a connection she can use to her advantage.”

She uncrossed her arms, smoothed her thumb over the smiling faces, her pulse fluttering. Was that what this was?

He stepped closer, placed his hands on her shoulders. “I just don’t want you walking into this blind, Rose. Not when it comes to her.”

She exhaled, her grip tightening on the frame. “I know. And I’m not. ”

After everything, the betrayal, the bitter words at the archaeological site, the years of silence? Finn was right to be suspicious.

But the photograph was different. Personal. An acknowledgment of what they’d once been to each other. A moment before their paths had diverged, before hurt had driven them apart. Perhaps they would always be on opposing sides.

But they would always be sisters too.

Her throat burned as she looked up at Finn. God, she loved this man so much.

Hiswarmth enveloped her as he pulled her in. “You okay?”

She inhaled deeply, pressing her face against his chest. “I’m good.” She clutched the photograph, listening to the metronome of Finn’s heartbeat.

The truth settled within her.

This wasn’t over.

But whatever lay ahead with Thea, she’d made her choice.

The right one.

She tilted her head, meeting Finn’s eyes.

And he was right here with her.