The sound came again—another crunch of leaves, deliberate, measured.
Daniel.
I froze where I stood, my entire body quaking. Adrian moved in front of me, shielding me with a strength he didn’t really have, but his posture was unyielding. His hand tightened on the branch like it was a sword, though I could see the tremor in his grip.
The silence that followed was worse than the footsteps. The pause before the storm.
Then came the voice.
“Emma.”
It wasn’t shouted. It wasn’t even angry. It was calm. Too calm. And that, somehow, made it more terrifying than rage ever could.
My knees nearly buckled. My name on his lips sounded like both a prayer and a curse.
Adrian’s jaw tightened. He moved closer to the door, his body coiled to strike. “Stay back,” he hissed under his breath.
But Danie
