Page 137 of What We Don't Say: Part Two

The house sounds normal again. Tools tap lightly against the table, Sloane murmurs something near Theo’s ear, and Idris pauses every few minutes to kiss my temple before returning to the report.

Zana called this morning to confirm that Garrett’s request for release had been denied. The break-in footage, the false documents in his coat, the active fraud investigation, and his attempt to reach Theo after being told to stay away have left him behind a locked door while the case moves forward.

The news didn't make me celebrate. It settled into the quiet place inside me where Garrett’s voice used to live and closed something I had spent too long trying to hold open.

He can't enter this house again. He can't call an officer and make his lies sound official, can't use Sloane’s voice to tell me I have been discarded, and can't stand over Theo while deciding what his silence means.

I have Sloane beside me again, his bond warm beneath my skin even when he is across the room. Idris' mark remains tender enough that I notice it when he kisses me, and Theo’s hand still searches for mine whenever he moves close.

Dash is here too. He has been here through every ordinary hour of the past week, checking the locks without making the house feel like a cell, placing coffee beside me before I ask, and letting Theo sit on the floor near his desk while he works.

He is the first person I looked for after Garrett was taken away. He is the person who cleaned my bruised knuckles, slept at the edge of the nest when Theo could not tolerate another closed door, and woke before dawn each morning because the smallest sound still brought him upright.

The certainty has been with me since before the break-in. I kept waiting because I didn't want to choose him during a crisis, during Theo’s spike, or while I was still finding my footing with the bonds I had lost.

Nearly a week has passed. The house has steadied, and my answer has not changed.

Dash looks up when I unfold my legs and stand. His eyes move over my face immediately, searching for strain before I have said anything.

“I am going into the lockoff for a little while,” I tell them. “I am staying in the house, and I have my phone.”

Theo turns beneath Sloane’s hands. His shoulders lift before he looks toward the hall, then back at me.

“The lockoff?” he asks.

“Yes, Star.” I cross the room and crouch in front of him, smoothing his hair away from his forehead before kissing him. “I need a quiet minute. You know where I am.”

Theo studies my face, then presses his cheek against my palm. Sloane keeps one hand on his shoulder while Idris sets the tablet aside and looks directly at me.

“Do you want company?” Idris asks.

“Not yet.” I glance toward Dash, who has gone very still at the table. “I will tell you if that changes.”

Sloane catches my wrist before I straighten and kisses the inside of it. His bond presses warm against me, full of concern without any attempt to keep me in the room.

“We will be here, baby,” he says. Theo nods beside him, and Idris reaches over to touch the paired piece connected to my bracelet before I leave.

The lockoff smells faintly of cedar and the lavender detergent Dash used on the sheets when this room was the only place I could sleep. The bed has been made, the small lamp still sits on the table, and one of my old sweaters remains folded in the bottom drawer because I never remembered to carry it back into the rest of the house.

I run my fingers over the sleeve before closing the drawer. The room does not feel lonely now, though I remember how carefully I once arranged my belongings so I could leave without taking too long.

Dash never asked me to unpack more than I could bear. He gave me a key, kept food in the refrigerator, and sat outside the door on the nights when I needed someone near me but could not tolerate being touched.

My phone vibrates against the bedspread. For one ugly second my stomach still reacts before my mind catches up, but the screen is open to the Pack thread instead of another number I don’t know.

Theo: Are you okay?

I look toward the closed door before answering.

Callie: I’m okay. I just needed quiet for a few minutes.

Theo: Okay.

Sloane: We’re staying in the living room.

Idris: No one is coming in unless you ask.

Theo: I wasn’t going to.