Dane's POV:
I pull her T-shirt gently over her head and tuck the blanket around her small frame, like she's something precious I'm terrified of losing.
For a long moment, I don't move.
I just… look at her.
Breathe her in.
Let myself have this one stolen glimpse of peace — the kind I only ever feel when she's near me.
When she's awake, I have to hold myself back.
Like this I can finally love her the way I've wanted to for years , the way I deserve to— openly, selfishly, without fear of her seeing too much.
God knows what tomorrow will bring.
She might wake up and regret everything.
That thought hits me hard — a sharp, twisting pain right under my ribs — because I've waited so long for a moment like this.
Too long.
"I wish I could tell you everything, baby… I really do."
My voice is barely sound, more pain than breath.
"But this is for your own good."
I lean down and press my lips to her forehead, slow and lingering, letting the kiss say all the things I can't.
All the things I'll never be allowed to say out loud.
It feels like a promise, like goodbye, like everything I'm terrified of losing wrapped into one small, trembling moment.
What happened tonight — the blast of gunfire, her body jerking in fear, the way she almost got pulled into the line of fire — burns through my skull like acid.
I can't sit still.
I can't breathe.
The anger won't fit inside my chest.
I leave the room before I break something, and dial Jake and Ivan.
"Both of you. Here. Now."I almost bark into the phone.
Less than three minutes later, I hear them thundering up the staircase.
Heavy boots hitting metal, but still trying to be careful, like the wrong sound might set me off.
They stop in front of me, shoulders stiff, eyes forward.
"Captain," they salute.
I look at Ivan.
His throat bobs like he's trying not to choke on air.
"Ivan," I say, quiet and low.
"How the fuck did you not see this coming?"
He flinches before he answers.
"Sir, I—I apologise. We didn't have these men on any list. It was a rogue job. We traced the number they received orders from and… we think it ties back to the Marianis."
Think.
The word snaps something brittle in me.
My jaw grinds.
Even Jake shifts his weight, tension rolling off him.
"You think?" The words tear out of me, sharp and lethal.
Ivan's eyes drop instantly.
Jake steps in like he's trying to stop blood from spilling.
"Captain," Jake says carefully,
"We neutralised every single one of them. But if the Marianis are still involved… you need to move. Fast."
"She was with me."
It comes out like a growl, like something feral scraping out of my chest.
"Do you understand what that means?"
Ivan answers, but his voice is smaller now, controlled, scared.
"That's why she needs to move too, captain."
If something happens to her… it'll be the end of me.
She's going to hate this.
The second she realises I'm moving her, controlling her life…
She'll throw every wall back up.
She'll have questions.
She'll say she doesn't need me.
But she's wrong.
She has no idea what's coming.
No idea how deep this goes.
I drag a hand over my face, breath running thin with the weight of it.
I don't want to force her into anything.
But I'd rather have her angry and alive,
than unprotected and gone.
She's stuck with me now — whether she likes it or not.
Because the second she stepped into that line of fire, the second those bastards even looked at her…
Her safety stopped being a choice.
It became my responsibility.
My line in the sand.
My war.
And I will drag her, carry her, fight her —
do whatever the hell it takes —
to make sure she survives this.
Even if it means she never forgives me.
" I want us both out of here within a day," I say, each word clipped, final.
"Do whatever the hell you need to. Clean. Quiet. No mistakes."
They nod — too fast, too rigid — and I can tell they're relieved when I dismiss them.
And I'm left standing there, pulse still violent, the rage refusing to settle.
That old scum Mariani is still a thorn in my side.
A fucking ghost that refuses to stay buried.
It makes no sense.
Every single one of his men — I put them in the ground myself.
I watched the light leave their eyes.
I cleaned up every loose end.
So who the hell is after me?
My jaw ticks as I stalk toward the window, irritation crawling under my skin like fire ants.
The view of the rundown mill outside does nothing to settle me — if anything, it makes it worse.
Because no matter how many times I scan the shadows,
no matter how many angles I check,
I still feel it.
That prickle on the back of my neck.
That sense that someone is out there watching, waiting, breathing down the edges of our lives.
Danger isn't gone.
It's circling.
It's closer than it should be.
And the fact that I can't see it yet?
That's what pisses me off the most.
I decide to take a shower, hoping the heat will cool the storm inside my head.
The next few days are going to be a battlefield, and if someone's coming for me — or worse, for us — I need my mind sharp.
Prepared.
But the moment the warm water hits my skin, I know it's useless.
It doesn't calm me.
It doesn't steady me.
If anything, it wakes every nerve in my body, tightening everything under my skin.
Because all I can see is her.
The flashbacks of tonight hit me in waves — her breath hitching, her body arching into mine, the way she moved against me like she'd been made for my hands.
She's become even more beautiful than I remembered… painfully beautiful.
The softness of her boobs, the way they so perfectly fit in my palms.
Her moans echo in my head, soft and breathy and sinful.
And that look on her face when she was grinding against me — eyes half-lidded, lips parted.
God, it knocks the breath out of my chest.
I press a hand to the wall and slowly pump my already hard cock.
Water streaming over me, but it does nothing to wash her away.
Nothing to ease the hunger burning through me.
I think about the way she reacted in my hands — and the taste of her still on my tongue.
I lick my lips, wondering if I can still taste any trace of her.
Then the memory hits — the feel of her warm pussy clenching around me.
God, I remember how good she felt, and I can't wait to find out how she feels now.
The image of her riding me, those perfect soft tits bouncing in my face while I feel her take me deep, nearly pushes me over the edge all over again.
It's been years, and just the thought of her still gets to me.
I wipe down my body and pull my clothes on, my movements slowing for just a second as I look at her one last time before stepping out of the room.
I'm barely settling onto the bunk, ready to steal a quick nap, when my comm buzzes.
Jake's voice comes through, sharp and earnest.
"Captain! You and Miss Spencer go into lockdown in a day."
"Perfect" I breathe out.