Knox:
I could’ve gone anywhere after club business wrapped, but there was only one place I wanted to be.
With Viv.
I told myself to keep it cool. Don’t rush her. Don’t make her feel cornered. But hell, I wasn’t built for half-measures, and this woman had been running circles in my brain for days. That stormy, stubborn mouth. The way she fought the world like it owed her blood. And how she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t paying attention—like I was something dangerous she didn’t want but couldn’t shake.
I wasn’t trying to fix her.
I just wanted to be the one who didn’t break her worse.
When I pulled up outside her apartment, the windows glowed gold. She was home. She was waiting for me to return.
That meant something.
I didn’t knock. Didn’t need to. She opened the door the se
