Page 13 of The Final Contract

And that’s not what this would be. An agreement. Nothing more.

“Love,” I reply quickly, firmly, “is not in the cards for some of us. I know that.”

Something flickers in Lucian’s expression—the smallest softening, at least as much as a man like him allows. “You never know. Love may surprise you.”

His hand travels to Sienna’s thigh under the table, and she smiles at him—the one woman who managed to pierce his armor.

“Don’t lock that door before it’s even opened,” she adds quietly.

Across the table, Killian hasn’t spoken for several minutes. His leg bounces in steady rhythm under the table, his gaze fixed on one point in the polished obsidian like he could burn a hole straight through it.

Killian finally breaks his silence, his voice all business. “I’ll need a few extra guards to rotate shifts if she’s going to be dating. Until this stalker is found.”

Lucian nods in agreement.

Of course. Straight to logistics, straight to planning ahead. That’s Killian. Always practical, always a step ahead. It shouldn’t sting. But it does.

Not as much as his next sentence.

“And when she’s not my assignment anymore, we’ll talk about plans for tightening security at events. Galas. Operas. No Companion should be vulnerable like that again.”

The words slice sharper than they should.When she’s not my assignment anymore.

Sienna’s gaze flicks to Killian, then slides deliberately to me. I cut my eyes away quickly before she thinks she’s caught something that isn’t there—before she guesses that comment landed like a bruise. That I hadn’t let myself think about a future without Killian shadowing me.

Lucian nods once, decisive. “Good.”

Killian rises to his full height, tugging his jacket straight. “I’ll get Jaxon started.”

“And I’ll get Eve started on pulling your prospects, Sera.”

The door shuts behind him with a finality that makes me flinch, though I try not to let it show.

The door shuts behind me, and for the first time in hours, I can finally take a breath.

Not that it helps. The air is still thick with the echo of her voice.Marriage. A family.The words circle in my head like vultures—pecking, gnawing, refusing to leave me be.

I don’t know why it bothers me. It shouldn’t. Seraphina’s life isn’t mine to shape. My job is simple—keep her safe, eliminate threats, keep my distance. And yet the thought of her in someone else’s house, in someone else’s bed, wearing someone else’s ring?—

My jaw tightens until it aches.

I’ve sat through every contract she’s taken this past year. Seen the way she smiles, the way she plays the role, the way it’s all just performance. I know better than anyone it’s a transaction, a mask she slips on and discards when it’s over. But this? A final contract isn’t a part she can step out of.

A husband isn’t a client. He wouldn’t just hire her—he’d own her. Body. Name. Every fucking breath. And for reasons I refuse to name, the thought makes my blood burn hotter than it should.

I force my focus forward. The hallway outside the Ledger’s boardroom stretches wide, lined with glass and steel. A janitor whistles a tune while mopping the black marble floors, the sound echoing off the ceiling.

I’m halfway to the elevators when footsteps sound behind me. Controlled. Heavy.

Lucian.

“Killian,” he calls. Not a request. A command.

I stop, shoulders stiffening, and wait until he comes alongside me.

“Files are on their way,” he says. “Everything we had the first time. I’ve already looped Jaxon in.” He cuts a glance at the staff cleaning the hall. They hear a lot. See a lot. But we all know some things can’t even be whispered about in the open.

Right on cue, my phone buzzes in my pocket. Lucian doesn’t waste time.