NICHOLAS’S POV
I never thought the word calm would ever belong to me, never thought I did see this side of myself.
Not in my blood, not in my nature but the past weeks have humbled me. The loss, the fear, the desperate clawing at every lead to bring the girls home, it changed something in me.
It stripped me bare, kept me calm and stripped me of the arrogance I wore like armor for years.
I still watch her closely, though, not because I don’t trust her but because she reminds me so much of Vivian that it leaves me restless.
She tilts her head when she listens, and her eyes soften when looking at the children.
Even the way she folds her hands when she’s deep in thought.
It leaves behind a ghost of a feeling.
And yet, unlike Vivian, Ava doesn’t hide behind a mask.
She’s raw.
She fe
