The night was colder than it should have been.

Not because of the mountain air, or the way the wind carried whispers through the open cracks of the safe house, but because the adrenaline had finally run out. The danger, the chase, the blood pounding in my ears—all of it had stopped. And in that silence, I realized just how close I’d come to losing everything.

My breath came out shaky as I leaned against the old wooden wall. My palms still tingled from holding the gun too tightly. My heartbeat was still erratic, as if my body hadn’t caught up to the truth: we were safe.

Dante locked the...