Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 39414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Saxon’s expression doesn’t change, but his eyes sharpen to steel.
Graham’s calm cracks. It’s subtle, but it’s there—irritation turning into anger because he’s losing control of the narrative.
“You little—” he starts, then catches himself, swallowing the word before it becomes evidence.
Too late.
Ellie’s phone catches the slip anyway.
Graham’s jaw tightens. “Give me that.”
Ellie takes a step back, phone still in her hand. “No.”
Graham moves.
Fast.
He lunges for her phone like he can erase the truth by grabbing it.
And my body reacts before my mind finishes the thought.
I’m across the room in two strides, grabbing Graham’s wrist mid-lunge and stopping him cold.
The contact is electric—his skin under my palm, his pulse jumping as he realizes he just ran into the wrong man.
I twist his wrist down, just enough to hurt, just enough to remind him I’m built for restraint and violence in equal measure.
“Touch her,” I say, voice low and deadly, “and you die.”
Ellie’s breath catches behind me.
Graham’s eyes flare with shock, then fury. He tries to wrench free.
I don’t let him.
Saxon’s voice cuts through, calm and sharp. “Cooper.”
I don’t look at him. My gaze stays on Graham. “You’re done.”
Graham’s face is tight with rage now. The mask is gone. “You can’t threaten me.”
I lean in close enough for him to smell smoke on my skin. “I can. And I am.”
His eyes flick to Ellie, then back to me, and I see it—the calculation. The shift from physical to legal. He’s already spinning a story.
Ellie’s voice comes out behind me, steady. “I have it recorded.”
Graham’s face goes pale for half a second. Then his eyes go hard. “Delete it.”
Ellie laughs once, sharp. “No.”
Levi whistles. “Damn.”
Sadie steps closer to Ellie, protective without touching. “You want me to call the sheriff?”
Saxon’s gaze stays on Graham. “I think that’s a good idea.”
Graham’s jaw clenches. He looks at Saxon like he can’t believe the town isn’t on his side. “This is harassment.”
Saxon’s voice stays flat. “No. This is a woman documenting a threat.”
Graham’s eyes snap back to Ellie, rage simmering under his skin. “You’re going to regret this.”
I tighten my grip. “You’re going to regret walking in here.”
Ellie steps closer, voice low but steady. “Get out.”
Graham’s gaze flicks to her ring, then to me, then to the watching faces in the room. The town is here now. Witnesses. Consequences.
He smooths his jacket like he can put the mask back on, but it doesn’t fit anymore.
He pulls his wrist free with a jerky motion. I let him. Because the real power isn’t in my grip.
It’s in Ellie’s phone.
Graham’s eyes lock on me one last time, hatred sharp. “This isn’t over.”
I lean in, voice quieter. “It is.”
He storms toward the door, and Levi calls after him, cheerful as hell. “Hey! Don’t forget to pay for the chocolate you didn’t buy!”
Sadie elbows Levi. “Levi.”
Levi grins. “What? I’m an adult.”
The bell jingles as Graham leaves, but this time it doesn’t sound like a joke. It sounds like a door closing.
Ellie’s hand shakes as she lowers the phone. Her breath is quick, eyes bright, face pale.
I turn toward her, my anger still burning, my control fraying.
“You okay?” I ask, and my voice is rougher than I mean it to be.
Ellie lifts her chin like she’s still fighting. “I didn’t fold.”
“No,” I say, stepping closer. “You didn’t.”
Her eyes flick to my mouth, then away. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re proud.”
I smile, slow and dark. “I am proud.”
Ellie’s breath catches.
Saxon clears his throat. “Cooper. Outside.”
I don’t look away from Ellie. “One second.”
Saxon’s voice goes sharper. “Now.”
Ellie swallows, then whispers, almost too quiet to hear, “Thank you.”
I lean in close enough that my mouth brushes her ear. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
She shivers.
Then I step back, turn, and follow Saxon out—because duty is still duty, even when my entire body is screaming to stay.
Behind me, Ellie clutches her phone like it’s the first real weapon she’s ever had.
And I know one thing with absolute certainty: Graham just realized she’s not alone anymore.
Which means the next move will be uglier.
Chapter 12
Ellie
Wyatt shows up like a storm.
One second I’m holding my phone like it’s the only solid thing left in the world—recording saved, hands still shaking, Levi running his mouth in the background like a siren made of sarcasm—and the next, the shop door swings open hard enough to rattle the bell.
Wyatt fills the doorway in turnout pants and a station tee, hair damp, jaw clenched, adrenaline still riding him so sharp it changes the air. He looks like he ran straight from fire to war and didn’t bother switching gears.
His eyes lock on me.
Then they lock on Graham.
And something in Wyatt’s face goes blank in the scariest way.
Not calm. Not controlled.
Empty.
Graham is near the counter with that polished smile half on his mouth, but it’s cracking now because he can feel it too—Wyatt’s heat, Wyatt’s size, Wyatt’s mine energy that doesn’t ask permission.