Page 34 of The Final Contract
I haven’t left her side once. I sat her in the cushioned chair in the corner of her bedroom, pulled a blanket around her shoulders. It swallows her whole, but she looks small anyway. Fragile in a way she’d hate me to admit out loud.
Finn appears at my side with a mug of tea, steam curling up from the surface. “Here, lass.”
She takes it, fingers trembling around the porcelain. Offers him the faintest, saddest smile—the kind that guts me, because I know it cost her everything just to lift her lips that much. The warmth seems to help. A little.
“Sera,” I murmur, low and careful, like I’m trying not to spook a cornered animal. Which is exactly what she is right now.
I already told Lucian what to expect before he got here. She’s not going to like this. Doesn’t matter. She needs it.
He crouches down beside me, his suit sharp, his presence heavier than anyone else’s in the room. Together we draw her out of the fog, dragging her gaze back to us.
“We need to get you somewhere safe tonight,” Lucian says, voice even, implacable.
Her eyes flick between us, slow, unfocused. That’s when I realize I’ve been rubbing the side of her thigh, thumb stroking all the way up to the bend of her hip. Christ. I force myself to stop, but I don’t move my hand. I can’t.
“Sera,” I try again.
This time she blinks, focus sharpening. “No.” Her voice is raw, thin but stubborn. “I’m not running away.”
“It’s not running away,” I counter immediately. “It’s being smart.”
She shakes her head, blanket slipping off one shoulder. “I won’t.”
I stand when she does, and Lucian joins me, the two of us towering over her. She doesn’t back down. She never does. Fire licks through her tears, that iron in her spine making itself known.
“It’s being smart,” I repeat, firmer this time.
“It’s giving in.” Her chin lifts, defiant.
Lucian’s jaw tightens, patience thinning. “If you can’t follow basic safety, Seraphina, then I’ll pull the plug on this entire suitor arrangement myself.” His tone is absolute, final. “House arrest, if that’s what it takes.”
The fire in her eyes blazes hotter, sparks flying.
“I won’t compromise your safety or the team’s because you want to make some sort of noble stand.” He holds out a black leather weekend bag he brought with him.
For a second, I think she’s going to fight us both right here. But after a long moment, her jaw clenches, lips pressed so tight they turn white.
“Fine,” she grits out, each letter bitten through her teeth.
She whirls away from us, storming into her closet, bag clutched in her fists. I hear the metallic scrape of a zipper, the rustle of fabric as she drags items into Lucian’s bag.
Reluctant. Furious. But agreeing all the same.
Lucian leans in close, his voice low enough only I can hear. “Don’t tell her, or anyone, where you’re taking her. Not until we get better tech in here to sweep for mics or trackers.”
I nod once. Doesn’t matter. I already know where I’ll take her.
She stuffs clothes into the weekend bag, zips it with sharp, jerky movements, then grabs a smaller one from her shelf and heads toward the bathroom. She hesitates at the doorway, shoulders tight, before steeling herself and stepping inside. It’s spotless now, every trace scrubbed away. But I know what she sees isn’t clean porcelain or glass—it’s the memory of red scrawled across her mirror.
By the time she comes back out, the kitchen’s crowded. More Ledger men. Lucian’s reinforcements. He doesn’t play games when it comes to companion safety—and Seraphina’s already been taken from us once. Not again. Not ever again.
Lucian and I split the orders between us, sharp and clipped. “Sweep the building.” “Trace maintenance logs.” “Pull footage.” Finn will stay onsite, overseeing everything. He doesn’t need the reminder, but I give it anyway. “Don’t let anyone through that door unless it’s one of ours.”
When she reappears, she’s changed—sweatpants and a soft top, white sneakers, her hair pulled into a ponytail. Makeup gone.
And Christ, I love her like this. Bare. Unvarnished. Real.
But it pisses me off too—that this room full of men gets to see her like this, when I want it for myself.
