Gabriel’s arms cradled her gently as Isabella rested her head against his chest. Her breathing was soft, shallow, the faint rise and fall of her shoulders a fragile rhythm he could trace with his fingertips.
He stayed like that, perfectly still, not wanting to disturb the fragile peace that had settled between them after the storm of fear and confusion.
For a long moment, the room existed only for them. His hand brushed lightly over her hair, smoothing strands that had fallen across her face.
The weight of her trust, of her vulnerability, pressed into him more than any fear or anger he had carried in the last hours. He had found her. She was alive. She was safe. And for now, that was all that mattered.
Andreas, who had been quietly standing a few steps behind them, shifted, clearing h
