Kieran stood from the bed and grabbed her hand, spinning her around to face him.

“Where is your collar?”

She didn’t react. But he saw it—tears shimmering in her eyes. And just like that, confusion washed over him.

He knew she’d be upset. He hadn’t come home in over a day. He expected anger. Silence. Maybe even tears.

But not… this.

Not the emptiness in her eyes. Not the way her body felt cold even in his hands.

Something was wrong. Deeply wrong.

He let go of her hand and turned toward the bedside drawer. Pulling it open, he fumbled past notepads and sticky notes—the ones he had bought just...