Chapter 41

The night felt heavier than usual as Julian and Erica drove back to the safehouse. The weight of everything they had gone through—Ophelia’s men, the close calls—hung in the air between them like a thick fog. Julian kept his eyes on the road, but his hand remained intertwined with Erica’s, a silent promise of support.

The tension from the gunfight still buzzed in Erica’s veins, but there was something else beneath it, something that had been building between them for longer than she wanted to admit. Glancing at Julian, she saw the hard lines of his jaw relax slightly as they left the danger behind. His focus, always sharp and calculating, softened when his gaze flicked over to her.

They had been through too much together. In the face of every threat, every secret that had come to light, Julian had stood by her side. And though she hadn’t always trusted him fully, she couldn’t deny the pull she felt now—the connection between them that had grown stronger with every close call, every ris